Of Angels and Vampires
by takashi00
Summary: In an Alternate Universe: two different races of Angels and Vampires fight, one for the protection of mankind and the other for their existence and the will to survive. Eldershipping, Gymshipping and minor pokeshipping. Completed.
1. Prologue: The Gathering and The Mission

**Of Angels and Vampires**

**Prologue**

The Gathering  
And  
The Mission

By Fallon

_**Tokyo, Japan**_

_**[Background Music: "Pax Deorum" by Enya ]**_

The strong current of the cold winds began picking up a few moments after she had arrived. Her bare feet stood on a single round pole on top of one of the buildings near the Tokyo Tower; her long purple skirt swayed as the winds blew, and not once did she shiver from the cold winds.

The woman stood her ground on the pole, her eyes closed. Her right arm was raised, holding the top of her golden staff, and her left was raised thigh length, gripping the bottom of the staff. The staff she was holding was long and made of pure gold, with a red orb on the very top and two perfectly crafted pearly-white wings. Her long auburn hair was pulled back, and the only thing that covered her face were her auburn bangs. She wore a long purple skirt, a yellow obi with the yellow straps dangling, a white one-shouldered shirt, and a black sleeveless top.

Her eyes hadn't fluttered open to notice that the sky was darkening with black clouds that covered the starry sky and shut out the light from the stars and the moon over Tokyo. Behind her she had a pair of white shimmering wings that extended every now and then as the cruel winds blew east of her. A few white feathers would pull away from the wing and disappear from sight.

She was sent to Japan to protect and destroy.

"Protect those who live on Earth and destroy those who assault the ones we must protect."

Those words described her code of conduct for being a part of the Gaia Forces, groups of armies assigned to different countries of the world to protect the mortals that dwell there. She was the General of Gaia's first female army, and this was going to be her first assigned mission.

A while back, before she left her home, Gaia, she had spoken with the Head of the Council, Mayura. Mayura was a tall young woman, long crimson red hair, ruby-colored eyes, and she wore a white silken dress with red robes and gold jewelry. Mayura was giving the General the staff before she left to begin her mission.

"Take this," she said, presenting the staff to the auburn-haired woman.

She bowed slightly. "Thank you, Mayura," she murmured, taking the staff.

Mayura smiled. "This was used by many of Her Defensive Alliance's Generals, as well as myself. You know the meaning of this given to you, do you not?"

She knew exactly what she had meant; she had waited for this moment ever since she joined the Gaia Forces. The staff was given to those who had reached their final rank in their training: the position to be General. She had gone through every step of training to reach her goal of being head of the army. It had taken her a few decades to receive the most precious possession in all Gaia, but after all that hard work she finally had gotten where she was today.

The woman nodded. "Yes, I do."

Mayura gave her another smile. "And do you know the meaning and what it possesses?"

"Yes. It can form into a sword for use of combat. The red orb can gather power from the Gods only if requested. The wings represent Gaia and its people, and the gold represents the person's purity and dedication to serving Gaia," she replied.

"Very good. You knew more than I expected," she said. "That was to test what you knew of the staff. It wasn't that hard, now was it?"

The auburn-haired woman shook her head. "No, ma'am."

"Well, now that you completed the short easy knowledge test, I am giving you your first assignment of your first mission as General, where you left off with the late General Ria: the mission to finish off the remaining Japanese Vampires."

During the last mission, she had been sent with a group and General Ria to complete her training as Colonel, after which she would be promoted to General. Their mission was located in Tokyo, Japan, on the planet Terra-or Earth. There they would wipe out the Japanese Vampires before they had the chance to reform their race. She had heard little of the Japanese Vampires; she only knew that they were different from the Vampires in the west. They'd fed off mortal blood for survival, aged slowly, and lived long lives. However, they weren't affected by crucifixes, sunlight, stakes to the heart, and such. They seemed hard to defeat, but one way or another the Angels could bring them down.

However, while they were having their first round with the Japanese Vampires, the former General Ria had been badly wounded by the Japanese Vampires' leader, Ookido Yukinari. Ria had died there in battle, and the remaining Angels fled back to Gaia, leaving the Japanese Vampires thinking they had won the first round.

But it wasn't over yet…it was only beginning.

This took place three years ago when the war between the Angels and Japanese Vampires began. It took another three years to prepare a new and bigger army for Her Defensive Alliance and a new General was to be chosen.

She then put her thoughts aside and focused her attention on Mayura. "We will carry out this mission and see to that Yukinari and his race of vampires are removed, ma'am," she said, bowing slightly again.

"I don't expect you to kill them all at once; they might've repopulated while we were getting prepared. Let us hope that our time of preparation wasn't a waste," Mayura replied.

"I'll make sure it wasn't a waste, ma'am," she said, tapping the staff on the marbled floor with a serious expression.

Mayura smiled once more. She knew the woman standing before her wouldn't let her down. "Then it is good to hear that from you. I knew you would be the right type of person to be General, and I expect you not to fail or surrender. You and your army are much stronger than that. I give you leave with good fortune. May the Gods be with you, General Hanako."

And now it was all up to Hanako to stop this and avenge Ria's death for Gaia.

Her hands tightened its grip around the staff again. Hanako slowly opened her eyes, her brow furrowing and her eyes narrowing at Tokyo Tower. In the short distance from where she was standing, a strange color of light purple appeared behind her, and the rumbling sounds of thunder could be heard from miles.

She was the General, Gaia's ray of hope in defeating their long-time enemy that they had loathed for centuries when they came into existence. Now was their chance at giving them what they deserved for all what they had done.

_They'll pay…_ Hanako thought, still focusing her glaring eyes on the Tower.

He gazed up with his dark brown eyes, listening to the thunder rumble high above, seeing the clouds swirl and thicken dark as an abyss in the sky. The only lights shining were the lights among the streets. He had a feeling in his heart that something was going to happen tonight, something that hasn't occurred for a very long time.

"_Tenshi…_" he muttered harshly with his Kyoto dialect under his breath.

"_Nigousan…_" he uttered again, looking in all different directions with a pensive expression. Everything was coming into place: the return of the Gaian army and the presence of his daughter appearing.

He predicted one of those were going to happen, of course, Her Defensive Alliance was going to make another appearance and he has sure on that of happening sooner or later. As for his daughter, who had disappeared 400 years ago, was chosen to be the _Nigousan_: Mistress, the Japanese Vampires' "savior". She was chosen to lead her father and her people to salvation, the one that would save them from fading from existence.

He looked towards the darkening sky again, little droplets of rain fell on his face and flashes of lightening lit up the sky. He could smell the blood of a Gaian Angel, the purest of blood and that was all going to shed and poured on the ground…

"Yukinari?" A soft voice broke in his thoughts, breaking the cycle of his deep concentration; his dark brown eyes shifted to the right. "Is something wrong? Don't you want to come inside?" it asked.

Yukinari turned his head slightly, smiling, then turning around completely. Standing before him was a woman near the apartment complex with wavy lavender hair. She gazed at him with her bright golden-yellow eyes, almost giving a pleading and innocent gaze at him. Surely Vampires are sensual, but Yukinari was in no mood to get his foot caught in the sheet tonight. _Lure me into bed and you'll regret it…_ he thought, giving the woman a look of refusal. "_Iie, Yumiko-chan_," he replied. Yumiko seemed disappointed. "I have…important things to do tonight, maybe some other time."

Yumiko smirked. The woman was trying to hide her utter disappointment. "Really? I hope it won't hold you back next time."

Yukinari could tell she was upset. He hadn't meant to disappoint her—he just wanted to brush her off and leave. Giving her a smile, he took her hand, holding it inches away from his lips. "It depends, Yumiko, but I'm sorry to disappoint you," he said, kissing her hand and then stepping back. "You know how the job is." He turned and walked away, leaving the lavender-haired woman standing at the entrance of her apartment.

_Women…_ Yukinari thought with a smile forming on his lips. _They would do anything to drag a man to bed to have that feeling of pleasure…_

Yukinari walked in haste, trying to make his way down the long streets of Tokyo, passing through shops and such, looking ahead to where the Tokyo Tower stood with the sounds of thunder rumbling and flashes of lightening in the distance. _The Gathering will take place tonight,_ he thought, taking no notice of the rain beginning to fall or the people quickly brushing by him, trying to dodge the droplets of rain. _If the Gaians dare to interrupt and go for another round…_

Yukinari looked up. _We'll be ready for them…_

_**Tokyo Tower**_

A man with short gray hair and brown eyes was dressed in samurai armor, standing outside the Tokyo Tower. He paced back and forth awaiting his leader's arrival. He seemed nervous and afraid of what he was about to tell his leader: many of the karyuudo had spotted a few angels flying around the tower.

"They might plan an attack on the Gathering! Or assassinate Lord Yukinari!" said one of the karyuudo. It was obvious enough for the Angels being here in the first place, they all knew they would come back one day.

The man with the short gray hair sighed. "We will do what we can to make sure the Gathering is secure and no intruders may enter." He spoke to the group of karyuudo. "Be on your guard and protect Yukinari-sama at all cost! Let no harm come to him. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" they cried.

Now he stood outside the tower, still waiting patiently but worried. Looking out into the distance of the streets, he could see a figure coming towards his direction. Narrowing his dark-brown eyes through the drizzle of the falling rain, he could see it was his leader. "_Yukinari-sama!_" he shouted. A thought then crossed his mind: his leader probably wouldn't be too thrilled that a few of the karyuudo had spotted Angels.

Yukinari approached the man near the tower entrance, "_Konbanwa, Shurii,_" he said, smiling.

Shurii bowed. "Sir, I have important news from numerous karyuudo—something you probably do not want to hear," he spoke nervously.

"If it's anything about those Gaians, then let me hear it. I knew they would appear sooner or later," Yukinari replied, brushing past Shurii.

"Indeed it is, sir, but we are assuming that they are here to assassinate you and—"

"Very much like their plans last time. They can't seem to get their revenge on me," Yukinari cut in bluntly and gave a long sigh. Shurii stayed quiet for a moment, striding alongside his leader. "Have you given the orders to them yet?" Yukinari questioned as they both walked down the long hallway, making their way to the elevator.

"_Hai, wagakimi,_" Shurii replied. "Shortly before your arrival, sir."

"Good, I don't want them to interfere this time," Yukinari said, "This will be their second encounter. If this keeps going, they'll end up making me feel weary to my death, if that's what they're trying to do. Sometimes I wonder, Shurii, why can't they just forget about us and move on?"

Once they entered the elevator, Yukinari waved his hand over his face: changing his eye color from a dark brown to a ruby-red.

"You _know_ they won't stop until we're all dead, sir," Shurii answered.

Yukinari nodded. "Yes, I know they'll stop at nothing…nothing would stop them from killing us…"

The elevator slowly levitated and suddenly came to a shaking halt; it had reached the third floor. The doors slowly slid open as both Yukinari and Shurii exited. Yukinari was preparing himself for the Gathering that was soon to begin. A few female servants gave him his traditional wear. Clothed in _dougi_ and _hamaka_—traditional robe and pants that were the colors of gray and black—he tied his sword's hilt at his right side, also putting on long black cloak to cover his clothes. The servants then bowed to their lord and disappeared from his sight, leaving Shurii and his leader alone again.

Shurii only then gave a glance at his dear old friend. Sighing, he asked, "Are you ready to face what will happen tonight, sir?"

Yukinari only chuckled, his colored-ruby eyes narrowed. "_Hai, Shurii…_" He responded, turning and his long black cloak whisked as he did. "I am always ready for anything…even for my death…"

The double-doors flung open ,and that alerted everyone in the building that their Leader had arrived. Rows of vampires rose to their feet, turning their heads towards the doors; there they saw their leader, Lord Ookido Yukinari, making his entrance. They all bowed as he walked down the aisle, then his army of karyuudo, too, rose and bowed, greeting their leader. Yukinari walked up the steps to his throne, facing towards his throne. Then with one quick turn he looked on his race. All of their eyes were on him. No sound stirred the moment, just the focus on their leader.

Outside the tower an angel with azure-colored hair looked with her dark blue eyes through the window. Her wings fluttered softly as she stood still. With both hands on the long glass window, she looked at two other angels and gave them a slight nod. The two angels then nodded in response and she joined them. "We must report back to the General," spoke the angel with azure hair. "The Vampires' Gathering is about to begin."

Extending his arm, Yukinari gave the signal for everyone to be seated. Thus, being seated himself, he suddenly stood rooted to his spot, feeling the same presence he felt earlier. He looked up through the windows, smirking. _So they did come…I knew that they would…_

As soon as the others joined the group, the woman with the dark blue eyes approached her General, sharing what she and the others had seen. "The Gathering is held here, ma'am," she said. "All of them are inside—possibly discussing our presence being sensed."

The group's General was silent for a moment; as the new General, she knew this mission was going to be risky. She was to lead her warriors into a dangerous situation, but she hoped things would not end up as they had before. "Indeed," she responded, finally managing to break her short silence. "Was Yukinari there?"

"I saw the hellspawn with my own eyes, General," the azure haired angel replied dryly, "and all of his other demons."

"How many vampires did you see?" the General asked.

"Four hundred of his people and two hundred of his karyuudo, it seemed, ma'am."

The General then nodded. "Two hundred in his army? That number seems like a few…but combining his people and the karyuudo would only make six hundred total."

"It depends on how well they trained, General," the woman said.

"That is also true," Hanako replied, sighing. She had hoped the Japanese Vampires number would decrease—but it was only wishful thinking. She had chosen taking the top ranks and well-trained warriors from Her Defensive Alliance instead of adding the lower ranks for more help. Her army only numbered one hundred fifty.

She looked at the woman with azure hair. "Leiko, I want you to lead thirty warriors positioned at the North window of the tower. Wait on my command."

"Yes, General!" the woman named Leiko replied, gathering the requested number of warriors together.

"I want twenty on the South window, thirty on East window, and twenty on the West window!" Hanako commanded, pointing in the given directions. "When I give the signal of my staff breaking the window, that is your cue to enter. But when I say _kougeki_, you attack."

The groups then divided up into twenties and thirties, moving into their assigned places of the tower. Hanako carefully watched them all fall into their positions. Sighing, she hoped her plan would work out. _There may be more of them and few of us…but I have faith in all of you._

Yukinari remained seated, but he was tense: he could feel their presence drawing closer and closer by the second! He felt an urge to warn his people, but if he were to do that, it would only cause a huge uproar. _I'll let them pull their tricks, but I've got my own up my sleeve,_ he thought as the corner of his mouth rose up to form a small smirk. Yukinari then focused his attention back to his people, trying to shake off the Angels' presence near.

Shurii was standing before the Japanese Vampires, discussing a new era that was dawning. "This year marks a new age for all of us," he spoke aloud. "The Gathering that brings all of us together to unite as one nation of Vampires—and bringing us together defines that we can work together in aiding each other in every need." He looked towards his leader. Shurii could see the uncertainty in his eyes…like something was wrong…but he just focused his attention back on the Vampires.

"It has been brought to our leader and my attention that our race has begun fading from existence. The cause of that is unknown, but many of the karyuudo have told me that our decreasing numbers might be the Gaians' doing." When he had spoken the word _Gaians_, the entire room filled with scorn.

"Those Angels interfered with our last Gathering! We can't let them do it again!" shouted a male Vampire.

"You band of hunters are supposed to protect us _and_ yourselves! What type of training do you go through and get killed by a Gaian?" shouted another. Arguments and threats exploded among the Vampires.

Yukinari rose from his throne. "Silence!" he shouted.

The room grew silent.

Yukinari's eyes roamed over the crowd—all were silent. Clearing his throat, he settled back down in his throne. "Please, Shurii, continue. Other issues will be discussed _later_," he hissed, eyes roaming over the crowd once more.

Shurii nodded his head, bowing slightly. "My apologies, Yukinari-sama. I shall continue." Turning towards the people again, Shurii continued, "I am to announof our Leader's plan to save our race from the brink of extinction."After a pause and a deep breath, Shurii said, "We must find the Nigousan and seek her help."

"But the lineage of the Nigousan has been long gone since she disappeared! It is impossible to find her again!" shouted one female vampire. Conflict was on the rise again; Yukinari only sunk back into his throne, sighing. _I knew this was going to be hopeless but there is no other way!_ He thought.

"How do you expect us to find her when we don't even know where the hell she is? It would take YEARS to find her incarnation!" another one yelled.

Shurii sighed, putting his hand up to silence the crowd. "It is impossible, yes, I know, but Lord Yukinari has come up with a way to find her. In order to find the Nigousan, it takes a few centuries for the reincarnator to appear—and when she does, the vampire blood will awaken."

All of the Vampires were silent, how could such a thing be possible? Yukinari sense the Nigousan? Most of them had forgotten that the Nigousan was their leader's daughter.

"So there is a form of bond between our Lord and the Nigousan?" one asked.

Shurii opened his mouth to respond but Yukinari cut in. "Yes. As you all know, the Nigousan, Suzumi, is my daughter. She is the one that could save us all from dying. Of course, the Nigousan can choose whether or not she should save her people…and only I know how stubborn my daughter is." He chuckled.

"What if she refused to do her duty, sir?" asked Shurii.

"If she refused, then I would have to force her—because our purpose here on this Earth is well known. She must inspire us not only to bring destruction and such upon the humans, but she must also encourage our will to survive."

Yukinari rose from his throne. "Some of you may not agree of why I want the Nigousan back, although some of you do. With the Nigousan, we will be able to defeat the Angels by greater numbers in our army. The bigger our army will be," he said, clenching his fist as tightly as he could, "the stronger we will be, and we will be able to kill them all! Claiming our victory!"

Cheers and cries erupted throughout the room. Yukinari looked through all the windows. He could still sense them outside…he knew they were waiting. "Come out and fight, Gaians, _I dare you…_" Yukinari said softly, his lips curving into an evil grin.

Shurii's eyes were focused on his leader, reading the words he had spoken, then following his gaze towards the large glass window. Shurii's eyes narrowed, seeing a pair soft fluttering white wings and then a dark figure looming from the window.

The General's wings fluttered softly, catching the wind while the clouds were still dark as an abyss. Floating in mid-air looking through the window, her eyes grew narrow like daggers focusing on _him_. It was like he was staring straight at her, beckoning her to come. Reading his lips, she could see the expression he had on his face…that devilish smile! Her hands grew tighter around her staff, trying to hold herself back from smashing the window without giving the command to her army.

"General!" a voice called, pulling Hanako back to reality.

The General turned her head, eyes focusing on Leiko. "Yes, Leiko?"

"The others are awaiting your command for attack, ma'am."

Hanako and Leiko joined their group. "I will give the command shortly, but hear me out. I want all of you to be strong as you were trained to be. The Council is counting on us to destroy some of their number, although Lady Mayura has told me we cannot kill them all at once. I am following orders as General, but their plan of bringing the Nigousan back will be a problem for us."

"So is your command to kill them, General?"

"No, my command to you is to protect yourself and those around you…but if such a threat as the Nigousan's return arises, then we will do what we can." Hanako sighed softly, turning, facing towards the window, staff in both hands and placing it in front of her. "North, East, West, South GO!" Hanako shouted.

The staff then broke the window.

With the sound of the windows shattering in all four directions of the room, the Vampires quickly rose from their seats: growling, hissing, and cursing at them. Hanako and her army remained quiet, standing together, not paying attention to the Vampires that loathed them and said such words. Yukinari stepped down from his throne, waving his hand to silence the crowd. He grinned at the General, his ruby red eyes narrowing at her.

She could feel his gaze over her body. It disgusted her deeply.

"Welcome back, Gaians," Yukinari said with a positive tone. "What a surprise this is…for you to stop by," he hissed, walking by his karyuudo, who stood as if on cue, awaiting their leader's command.

Yukinari stopped, rooted to the floor, only a few feet away from where Hanako and her army were. "Have you come back for your revenge, may I ask? Or have you come back to make amends with us and put our troubles behind to make peace?" he questioned, his eyes fixed on Hanako.

Hanako remained calm, tightening her grip around her staff. "You know very well our reason for coming back here, Yukinari," she sneered.

"Do I?" Yukinari mused, smiling. "Then remind me again why you are here, Hanako?"

Hanako's narrowed eyes decreased, and her brow furrowed. "How long has it been since we last fought, Yukinari? Three years now? Well, the last time I remember you killed the General and my mentor, Ria!" she responded harshly.

"Ah yes! I remember now! I _did_ kill the former General Ria! Back then you were under her teachings to be promoted to be General, isn't that right?" Yukinari smiled again proudly.

It was all coming back to Hanako.

_With a quick stroke of his sword, he thrust it at Ria, jabbing the sword straight into her stomach. Ria cried out, Yukinari grinned looking at Ria; Hanako jerked her head, looking towards the area where Ria and Yukinari fought. She could see that her General was defeated. "General Ria!" she shouted, sprouting her white glistening wings, flying towards her._

_Leiko struggled to rise, to try and crawl to the General, but she failed-failed to save her from the demon. The only thing she could do was hang her head in guilt and cry. _

_Ria sank to her knees, clutching at the open wound in her stomach and feeling the warm liquid blood flow from it. Yukinari stood over her, laughing as his ruby-red eyes pierced her, "Looks like I win, Ria," he said, raising his sword. "Any last words?"_

_Ria tilted her head up, looking into the eyes of the Vampire Lord. "You will never win against Gaia, Yukinari, I swear it! You will not win!"_

_He gave a chuckle. "But I have already thrown you down. My next move is to kill you! Once your army is defeated, we will go to Gaia and destroy it once and for all!"_

_Ria struggled to stand, with her sword in one hand and the other on her wound. "Foolish demon! You think you have such power to do so? The Beings of Light will cast you and your hellspawn back to where you came from!"_

_"Not unless the Beings of the Darkness have the first move." Yukinari threw his sword at her, aiming for her head, but soon there came a loud **clang!** _

_Hanako blocked his sword with hers; Yukinari gazed at Hanako with an expression of near surprise. Hanako's eyes narrowed, and with all her strength she tried to fend off his sword from touching Ria. "What is this? The General's apprentice trying to stop me?" he asked, throwing his head back and bursting out with laughter. Hanako growled, shoving him back. _

_"Hanako, what are you doing? Just let him finish me off!" Ria told her. _

_"I won't let him, General!" Hanako yelled."Even if he has already struck you, I won't let him kill you!"_

_Hanako sprinted off, swinging her sword at Yukinari. He easily dodged it and smiled. "The General's apprentice still has much to learn," he mocked, smiling. "Too bad your mentor is going to die."_

_"You bastard!" she screamed, swinging her sword at him, desperately trying to hit him._

_Yukinari dodged her attacks. He stuck his sword out and suddenly stopped her attack, twisting her sword around until she lost her grip on it. Then he appeared behind her, holding her tightly around one arm with his blade near her neck. Hanako struggled to free herself from his grasp, but he held on to her more tightly and dug the blade deeper into her throat, almost cutting it. She froze as she listened to him whisper in her ear._

_"Struggle more and I'll cut your throat, Gaian," he hissed. "If you and your army ever come back, I'll kill you." _

_"How do you know we'll come back, Yukinari?" _

_"Because I do, apprentice." _

_Hanako looked over to where Ria stood. Her wound still bled, and she struggled to remain standing. Ria tried to move closer towards Hanako, but Yukinari growled, "Stay back, tenshi!" _

_Ria stopped. "Let her go!" she demanded._

_"Why should I let her go when you're close to death?" Yukinari mocked, grinning._

_Ria was at a loss for words, staring at Hanako, fearing for her life. Hanako showed no emotion. Courage was in her—Ria could tell, yet she was still afraid for her apprentice's sake. Hanako felt the same._

_"I may not be dead yet," she began; Yukinari looked at Ria, paying attention to what she had say. "But if you let Hanako go, you can give me my death." _

_"No! No! Don't let him Ria! You can still live!" Hanako protested, trying to convince her General that she'd rather die in her place. _

_But it was already too late, Ria was already injured. Luckily she still had the strength to stand. _

_Yukinari smiled. "What a willing sacrifice," he said, letting go of Hanako and approaching Ria. "I suppose I could finish you now, before we have any more interruptions." _

_Ria looked at Hanako, sending a message with her eyes telling her apprentice to let this happen. Hanako couldn't believe that she was really going to die. "General Ria," she whispered, trying to hold back her tears._

_Leiko still had time to stand up, quickly rising to her feet, with her bow in her hand. She reached behind her back to grab an arrow from her quiver. She wasn't going to let Yukinari kill the General! "One stroke and that bastard will pay," she whispered harshly, pulling the arrow back on her bow and waiting for the moment to let go of the arrow while it was facing the back of Yukinari._

_"Well, it was lovely knowing you, General Ria. I do hope they give you a proper burial when you return to Gaia," Yukinari said._

_"I will be remembered, but more importantly, when I am gone, I want you to remember this." Ria turned around, showing Yukinari the battle that raged on between Angels and Vampires: swords jabbing into flesh and allies/opponents falling to their knees, still struggling to stay alive and fight. "I hope that when I am gone, you and your race will be gone from this face of the earth forever, Yukinari."_

_"Only the future knows what is to come, General, and I plan to have my descendants live on. Though I do not wish to take over the world, but to have an existence. To know that I, as a Vampire or whatever you wish to call me, exist." He said. _

_Hanako heard both the General and the Vampire Lord speak these words. She felt the same way as Ria did: the Vampires must be completely destroyed. _

_"We have lived long before Gaia knew of our existence. My father wished for me to be a great leader like him. I am carrying out his wishes, for I am his only heir. Even though I have no heir to take my place, when I pass on..." He raised his sword, pointing at Ria's back. _

_Ria closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of chaos and mixed blood of Angel and Vampire. She suddenly felt the blade go through her back. With a quick gasp, she fell to her knees, but Yukinari caught her in his right arm, holding her up._

_"If I am not the one to destroy your damned race, then somehow I will find a way," he finished, smiling, feeling the body he held go limp—hearing the faint sound of the heart beat, beating slower and slower. _

_Yukinari let go of Ria, and she fell to the floor. Moving away from her, he went off to watch the battle rage on. Hanako rushed to her General's side. "Ria!" she cried. _

_The General only shook her head. "It's your turn now, Hanako. My duties are done," she told her, smiling. "You will be Her Defensive Alliance's new General, Hanako. I hope everything I've taught you was enough." _

_Hanako nodded. "Y-Yes, it was, Ria, thank you."_

_Ria still smiled, slowly closing her eyes._

_Leiko quickly released the arrow, and it pierced Yukinari's back._

Hanako shook her head. "You monster!" she hissed.

Yukinari smiled. "Do you remember now?"

She gave a slight nod, shaking with anger and gripping her staff. "It is my mission to kill you, you heartless demon!" she spat, looking at him with brow furrowed. He attempted to approach her, smiling and gazing at her. Hanako stood frozen in her spot, filled with hatred and anger for the creature coming towards her. She couldn't stand it any longer! She wanted to kill him!

_Just remain calm,_ she told herself, _your chance is coming._

Yukinari stood towering over Hanako, looking down at her. She could hear voices coming from the crowd whispering in Japanese. She didn't pay any attention to them but kept her focus on Yukinari. He looked at her for a long period of time, as if he were admiring her beauty. Hanako could tell from the way he looked at her and how he stood so close. It was making her feel very uncomfortable: how dare he get this close!

His ruby-red eyes gazed into hers; he simply smiled again, speaking to her in his native tongue. "_Uruwashii (Beautiful),_" he said.

Hanako completely understood what he said. She replied, "_Akuma, temae kirenai ko-ru touhou sore [_Devil, you cannot call me that]!"

Yukinari smiled, "You seem to understand me, Hanako."

"I may live on Gaia, Yukinari, but there are a few who speak Japanese to me…I could understand very well." She told him, still looking at him as he stood close to her. First she had the feeling of anger and hatred, now she was feeling utterly disgusted with him near her—she still held on, waiting for the right moment.

Yukinari smirked. "Well, when you come from a place like Japan, you have to communicate with those around you in your native tongue. Am I right?"

"Yes," Hanako said, nodding her head. "But what does our language have to do with remembering what you did long ago?"

She had a point, Yukinari thought, but he had only brought it up to get her started. _Firing her up, that is,_ he thought with a grin. "Oh, nothing really. Just wanted you to refresh my memory, General," he said. "Besides, it has been a long time since you were last here."

_That's because we were getting prepared for you, Yukinari. That's why it has taken us this long to get here,_ Hanako thought.

"Well, that I cannot discuss, Yukinari—"

"You were getting ready to fight me, weren't you?"

Hanako was a little surprised. "Yes," she quickly answered, whispering.

"Why be prepared when you can just walk into the battlefield and fight?" Yukinari stepped away from Hanako, letting her have some space but still standing close. "Surely you could've waited a few more years to come back and kill me, but no—you chose to stay on your planet and train as hard as you could."

Hanako stood rooted in her spot, quietly listening to him speak.

"You were probably still undergoing your training as General. I knew you weren't strong enough to fight me at that time," he said.

She wanted to scream out that she still could defeat him. "It is true," she replied, sighing. "I was still an amateur of combat skills at that time. But I am ready to fight you now."

Yukinari chuckled, "You challenge me to a fight?"

Hanako shook her head; "I do not challenge you, but am ready to fight you." He smirked, "I see," he said, "since you are determined to fight me, then know this, Hanako."

"And what is that, demon?" Hanako questioned, glaring at him. Yukinari smiled, "It has been a very long time since the last time I had a…certain feeling," he began.

Hanako felt his hands trail up her arms and he was beginning to touch her face, feeling her smooth skin. Hanako still hadn't moved, even though she had wanted to strike him at that moment.

"I think I am beginning to fall for you, General. Sad but true. Yet so strange because of our differences."

"I cannot say I have the same feelings for you, Yukinari," Hanako sneered.

"Yes, I know," he replied, smiling. "There would be no way for us to be together…"

"We'll never be together, Yukinari. Besides, what made you think you would fall for me?"

Yukinari cupped her chin with one hand and the other grasped her shoulder, Hanako froze, her patience was running short. "_Uruwashii,_" he whispered to her like before, drawing himself closer towards her and his lips softly pressed against hers.

Hanako was shocked, her eyes widen, _The first step,_ she thought to herself, she heard the murmurs and whispers among the crowd again and voices whispering coming from her own group. _The first step that he creates to get towards me._ Hanako struggled to free herself from him, but he only kissed her harder and held her more tightly. Hanako moaned; _this can't happen,_ she thought, gripping her staff, the staff formed into a sword. _He can't do this!_ Finally, Hanako had gotten her chance; shoving Yukinari away from her, there was a perfect distance between them, she pointed her sword at him. "Damn you, Yukinari." She spat.

Yukinari only grinned. "You like it? Maybe I can show you to my chambers."

Hanako screamed, turning and facing her army. "KOUGEKI!" she yelled. The battle had begun.

Hanako stood facing Yukinari, glaring, full of anger and hatred. Yukinari only stood rooted in his spot, smiling like a demon that had caused bad mischief. "How dare you pull something like that, Yukinari. I should kill you for that!" Hanako yelled.

"Oh, I thought you'd like it, General. I'm just starting to have my fun with you!" Yukinari responded, flipping his long black cloak and withdrawing his sword. "But if it's a fight you want, then I shall give you one."

"You may have defeated me long ago, but I will win against you this time!"

"Really? We'll have to see about that."

Yukinari positioned himself, smiling evilly at the Gaian, he beckon her to come close; Hanako took off, charging straight at Yukinari. She swung her sword at his side but with a _**clang!**_ He blocked it with his sword. "Come on, General, show me what you have learned, since it has taken you this long to come back." Yukinari swung his sword back at her, she blocked his attack and they began moving forward; Hanako seen that he was going to swing his sword again, she quickly dodged the attack. Moving a few feet away from him, she stood, staring at him again, he stared back and with a great leap, she came down on him barely missing his face. She had cut his left shoulder. Hanako had gotten quicker and stronger due to her training she had taken, but Yukinari still could keep up with her pace.

One after another, Leiko grabbed arrows from behind her, firing the arrows at Vampires that quickly dropped to their knees. She turned her attention towards the General and Yukinari, she sworn this time nothing would happen, she'd protect Hanako no matter what. Bringing her attention back, she seen a figure approach her at top speed, a vampire—one of the karyuudo—dressed in dark samurai armor, wearing a red mask, covering his mouth and nose and only revealing his dark-brown eyes that pierced her. He raised his sword, screaming and Leiko, taking a great leap, her wings quickly shooting her upward and missing the vampire's attack. She instantly turned, glaring at him, he too, turned and looked at her. "Come down and fight Gaian!" He spat, Leiko grabbed another arrow, "You do not demand me, but simply attack me from my range." She replied, shooting the arrow at him, the vampire easily dodged it, chuckling and leaping up towards her, grabbing a hold of her ankle. He yanked Leiko down, slamming her onto the floor; Leiko looked up, seeing that the vampire held his sword over his head. She rolled to the side quickly, getting to her feet and taking a sword from a vampire that had been defeated, charging at him, whipping the sword at his thick dark armor. He gave a slight chuckle, "Archers aren't very good with swords." He said, Leiko jumped back, holding the sword in her right hand tightly and her left arm extended, showing the palm of her hand. "This archer _is_ skillful with the sword." She sneered, glaring at him.

Yukinari growled, slamming the sword against the glass window, barely hitting Hanako; She stuck to the window, keeping her distance away from Yukinari. Outside the thunder began to roar rain was pounding on the windows, the windows surrounded them and they both paused. Standing still, flashes of lightening blinked within the distance, the lights flickered then dimmed and came back to its normal glow. Hanako glared at Yukinari, stepping forward and moving away from the window, her wings flutter flawlessly, her bangs obscured her face as she stood in a position waiting for Yukinari to attack again. Yukinari looked at her, simply beautiful, very flawless, was all he could see written all over her—to top it all off was her bravery and strong will.

He gave a chuckle, breaking the silence between them.

"What seems to be so funny, Vampire?" Hanako asked, snapping.

"You truly are beautiful, Hanako, you being in this state, I would love to see you in my chambers." He replied, grinning evilly.

The thought of such a thing made Hanako's skin crawl. "Ugh, don't let all of your sick fantasies go to your head, Yukinari—better yet, they have. I would rather die than get sexually tortured by the likes of _you_!"

She took off again, charging at him, her sword at her side, ramming it at his side, he blocked the impact with his sword, and he backpedaled, both of their swords clanging together. Yukinari's black cloak whisked and flowed at his every move continuing to hacking at her with his sword, chopping little strands of her hair, making her head in the direction towards the window. Hanako traced his steps, knowing what he was going to do; she gave a groan, clashing her sword with his again. She was making him step back, looking into his ruby-red eyes and keeping her focus there. The little red orb at the hilt of the sword began to aglow a bright red color, jabbing the sword against him he quickly blocked it. Hanako rushed passed him, turning around and tightly grasping the black cloak, with all her strength she yanked him forward, elbowing him in the head and he gave a cry lowering his head. Then suddenly, with the twirl of the sword in her hand, the sword began slicing down the right side of his face, a long thick line beginning from his brow all the way down towards his mouth.

Yukinari gave out a cry of agonizing pain, instantly dropped his sword and falling to his knees. Trying to cover the long cut with both of his hand he cried and the entire room heard his scream.

Shurii turned, looking towards to where Hanako and Yukinari stood, seeing that his leader was on his knees. "_Yukinari-sama,_" he whispered.

Yukinari tried to open his eyes, he could only see out of his left eye and his right eye burned with unbearable pain, the eye was completely cut and he could feel it. Hanako approached him, standing before him and looking down at him. she put her golden sword at her side. Her dark-brown eyes narrowed at him; Yukinari turned his head and looked at her, the blood dripping from his eye he rose to his feet. Giving a low chuckle, he grinned at her.

"Damaging half of my sight won't change a thing, General, I still can kill you in one stroke." He said gruffly.

"Easy for you to think," Hanako responded, pointing her sword at him, "that is, if you can still manage to see only with one eye and keep up at the same time."

She charged at him again, Yukinari tighten his grip around the hilt of his sword, swing it to one side and striking it at Hanako their swords clanging again. She turned around, trying to stab at the back of his leg; he quickly blocked her sword again and shoved her away from him. Hanako stood in her spot, seeing that Yukinari was coming close, the thick red blood still streamed down the side of his face and he did not even flinch or dare to cover it—just simply kept on going. Hanako had hoped that would slow him down, but it wasn't good enough, she'd have to do something better.

Their swords clanged together again, Yukinari smiled at her, instantly coming around her and she hadn't seen him doing so—instead he was right behind her. With the quick stroke of his sword, he sliced at her back, one curved line across her back and she flung forward.

Hanako caught her fall, turning and seeing Yukinari reaching out to grab her, pulling her by her hair. Swinging her around, he slammed her onto the floor, dropping her sword and she lied on her stomach for an instant, seeing her sword not too far from her. Hanako heard him approaching, she quickly struggled to grab her sword but he stopped her before she could and he stepped on her hand. She groaned, trying to reach it with her other hand but the vampire only laughed, grabbing her and pulling her up.

Yukinari had one arm wrapped around her tightly, just like before when she was trying to fight him when he tried to kill Ria; his sword gently sliding across her neck and then came a low evil chuckle. "We're back to where we started, General." He said.

Hanako didn't move. "Yes, I'd be surprised if you didn't kill me, Yukinari. Besides, didn't you say that you would kill me if we came back?"

"Yes, I did say that, but right now I'm not ready to kill you yet, General."

"Why not?"

"Because I still want to have a little fun with you before I do."

"Not this again! I would rather die now than do that."

Yukinari smirked. "Well, it isn't an option, General."

"Still, I refuse to do what you wish."

The vampire grunted, slamming his sword into the wall, barely missing Leiko. She pulled the sword at her side, jabbing it into his side he gave a cry. "HEE-YAH!" She yelled, punching her fist at his face, smashing and breaking the mask from his face. In an instant, he fumbled backwards, falling on his back and Leiko stood over him looking down at him. Seeing what she had done, the mask lied in pieces on his face and on the floor. She knelt down to clear away the broken mask, seen that he was still breathing, his eyes popped open and he looked at her extending his arm out to her he grabbed her neck. His fingers squeezing tightly around her neck, she gasped for air and tried forcing him to let go. He chuckled, "Foolish Gaian, you think you can throw down the vampires? You're wrong!" He yelled, rising, still having her in his grasp, he slammed her onto the floor while she still struggled to free herself. He had both of his hands on her neck now and she could feel everything around her become numb, darkness taking over her. _No…_ she thought to herself. _I won't die so easily and let them win!_ Kicking her leg up, she hit him right in the groin and he let go of her neck, falling over with his hands in between his legs. She appeared beside him, bow and arrow in her hands, she fired an arrow at him, struck him in the leg. Leiko turned around, scanning the room for the General and Yukinari, she gasped, seeing what he was doing to her—like before—and she took off and headed towards them.

Yukinari moved Hanako towards the battle that raged on while the blood from his eye dripped on her skin and white top. "Look at it, Hanako," he said. "Look at what our differences have done…the Beings of Darkness and Light, fighting each other to single each other out."

Hanako looked toward the battlefield. "You know I am here to carry out Ria's wish of you and your race to disappear, don't you?" she said.

"Of course I do, but I will still keep on fighting to live for my existence," he told her.

"Your existence does not matter to the world…you're just another leech roaming the Earth, looking for a purpose!" Hanako responded harshly.

"Oh, General, you make things more and more difficult for yourself—as much as I don't want to kill you, but just drag you to my chambers."

"Then why don't you?"

"Because you are very stubborn."

"Good. If I keep doing this, maybe you'll leave me alone."

The blood from Yukinari's eye still ran. With his sword in his hand, he wiped the blood on the back of his hand. Sighing, he spoke. "Then I suppose your first step is by cutting my right eye?"

"It wasn't a first step, Yukinari, only an act of defense," she replied coldly.

"So it was your way of keeping me away from you?" asked Yukinari.

"No, I just cut out your eye so you wouldn't have to look at me with both eyes," she said. "Your stare just burns with evil and desire—so I suppose you can call that a first step…towards killing you." She lifted her head up, looking at him.

"Then I don't see why you didn't kill me long ago when you had the chance," Yukinari said, holding her more tightly with the blade against her throat.

"Because I was still training! General Ria could've killed you if you hadn't struck first," Hanako replied.

"Well it's too late for that now. I'm going to give you a choice, General," Yukinari hissed. "Either you come with me or I'll cut your throat, keeping my promise that I can kill you."

Hanako swallowed hard. She refused to make any choices. "Go ahead and kill me... but if you lust for me, just stop this now and I'll go. If you give me another choice, we'll leave you in peace."

Yukinari gave her an odd look, "How can you be certain that you won't come back? You know you always will!" He had thought about that for a moment, easing his grip around her but still holding the blade to her throat. Hanako hadn't said anything. She was hoping he'd go along with her option…but a Vampire cannot be fooled so easily, she knew that very well.

"I don't agree with your option, General," he began, grabbing hold of her again, "but I'm close to making up my mind about killing you."

"What about your other option?" Hanako asked.

"There still could be that. If you beg me not to kill you, then I will," Yukinari said, lowering his head and inhaling the scent of her skin. "Pure Gaian blood runs through those veins," he whispered to her, "blood full of the immortality you are given by your Gods. I'd like to get a taste of that blood, General, before I kill you."

Hanako's skin began to crawl again, sending shivers down her spine, "Disgusting," she managed to mutter. "I take it you were like this with your other wives, Yukinari?" she asked.

Yukinari placed kisses on the right side of her neck, smiling. "As a matter of fact, General, getting a taste of their blood was sweet, too," he said, "but I'll bet yours is the sweetest."

Hanako felt his lips on her skin while her heart was thumping inside her chest. Searching for her staff, she saw it lying in the same place as before. She had to get it before Yukinari could devour her and drag her to his chambers. She felt his tongue in her ear, licking it, and he moaned. She stood there feeling ever so disgusted by him, and she hated it.

Looking down at her staff again, the red orb on the staff began to glow, and she watched it move. The staff shook, and she kept her eyes on it, hoping that it would come to her. Not too far away, a figure stood holding a bow and arrow in her hands. Hanako looked up and saw that it was Leiko.

Leiko's wings fluttered softly, her eyes flashing with anger as she pointed the arrow at Yukinari. "Let General Hanako go, Yukinari," she barked.

Yukinari stopped, looking up. Leiko quickly noticed the blood gushing out from his right eye. "Ah, the General's protector," he said. "Come to rescue your General, have you?"

"Indeed," Leiko replied, "now let her go!"

"Not until I get what I want from her!" Yukinari shouted, still having his sword in his hand and holding Hanako tighter.

"I won't let you kill her—just as you did General Ria!" Leiko shouted back.

Yukinari smiled evilly at her. "No, it's something better than that," he hissed. Hanako looked down at the staff again, seeing that it still shook and the red orb glowed more brightly now. She shifted her eyes at Leiko, nodding her head towards Yukinari.

In one quick moment, Hanako flung her right arm forward, sending it back and jabbing it into Yukinari's stomach. He let go of her finally, and Hanako sprang forward. "DO IT NOW, LEIKO!" she shouted, grabbing her staff and then quickly jumping to her feet.

Leiko released the arrow. As the arrow pierced his left shoulder, Yukinari lost his balance and began falling backwards. Leiko reached behind her to grab another one, firing one at his right side. Taking one more from her quiver, she was about it let it fly, but something whizzed forward, and a voice cried out, "NOOOOOO!"

Yukinari lied on his back, groaning and spoke. "Shurii, wait…"

Shurii stood before Yukinari, holding his sword in front of him. Still holding her bow and arrow, Leiko looked at him, then looked at Hanako questioningly. "Get out of the way—" Hanako shouted but Shurii interrupted her.

"Don't kill him! Please spare him!" he begged.

"Why should he have a chance to live? He didn't give General Ria a chance!" Leiko spat.

Shurii looked on with concern both at Leiko and Hanako and lowered his sword. "I know he killed your former General," he began, looking at Hanako, "but please, spare his life."

Hanako held her staff in her hands, and the red orb's glow faded. She sighed. "Karyuudo," she said, "as enemies we must fight in order to do what is right. By the order of the Council of Gaia, I have only brought my army here to avenge General Ria's death."

Shurii gazed at her, not speaking but listening to what she had to say.

"We will spare your leader's life—for now—but we will be back to do what we are commanded," Hanako said. Leiko gave her a look of disappointment but did not speak, and she lowered her bow.

"You're going to let him live, then?" Shurii asked.

Hanako nodded. "Yes, for now we are. But we'll be back." She walked towards Yukinari and looked down at him. "Mark my words, Yukinari, we will be back for you," she whispered.

"I'll be waiting, General," he replied.

Hanako turned around and headed towards the continuing battle. She commanded her army to stop. Leiko was about to follow but turned and looked at Shurii. "You have courage to speak to the General that way and asking her to spare your leader's life," she said to him, "but next time we won't." She turned and left, following the other Angels through one of the broken windows where a large purple portal opened.

Leiko stopped and looked at her General. "Why did you do that, General?" she asked.

Hanako sighed. "Because I remembered Lady Mayura didn't want us to kill them all at once," she said. "Our army's number was too small, although I believe we could've taken them on. But I thought it better to leave it at that." Leiko didn't reply, but nodded.

The Japanese Vampires watched the Angels leave and the portal disappear. Then they cried out with cheers. Shurii commanded that they clean up, leaving no evidence behind for the humans to investigate and find out about their existence. He turned his attention back to his leader, where he sat yanking out the arrows that pierced his body.

"Damn it, that's number three!" Yukinari spat. "And to top it off I lost my right eye!"

Shurii knelt beside his leader, giving him a torn cloth for his eye. "At least I begged them to spare your life, sir," he said.

"_Hai,_ I thank you for that Shurii," Yukinari responded.

"I was a bit surprised that they did, though," Shurii said, sighing. "They said they'd come back to kill you too."

"I know. I just hope they won't come back tomorrow to finish me off."

"I'm sure they won't, Yukinari-sama."

"Our main focus now is finding Suzumi," Yukinari said, "I want to start tomorrow to search for her."

"Not tomorrow, sir. You need time to heal," Shurii said. "Maybe in a few days we will to see how things let up."

"Well, starting tomorrow we must go back to Kyoto, to my father's palace. From there I will rest. Will that make you happy?" Yukinari asked, smiling.

"Yes, it will, my lord," Shurii replied.

"When those damn Gaians come back, I want Hanako in Kyoto, Shurii."

"Yes, sir, but why the sudden interest?"

Yukinari gave Shurii a grin. "You know what kind of _interest_ I'm talking about, dear friend."

Shurii nodded, not replying. His leader's safety was first in his thoughts. If he were to take Hanako back to Kyoto, wouldn't that result in his death if he brought her there? Shurii would have to make sure that did not happen.

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry if my Japanese is really bad; I haven't taken lessons on it so I am stuck with a Japanese Dictionary that usually helps a little. This closes out the prologue, hopefully you all enjoyed it and I am working on the first chapter now. A lot of things are changing since I'm rewriting the _whole_ story over now! Feedback is appreciated!

Karyuudo means "hunter" in Japanese; I couldn't find the proper word for "hunters" so this word will have to do.


	2. One: The Report and The Search

Of Angels and VampiresChapter One

The Report

And

The Search

By Fallon

Kyoto, Japan

_**- Lord Yoshitomo's Palace - **_

Three Days Later…

Yukinari's right eye began to sting again for the umpteenth time as the wound was slowly trying to close. General Hanako had damaged half of Yukinari's sight, cutting her blade through his right eye, given as a warning. He had gotten stitches for the large wound, and a bandage was wrapped around his head and over his eye. The pain wasn't as excruciating now that it had eased up over the past three days.

He stood in the garden which was once beautiful in his memory, but was now overtaken by the hideous color of dry dead grass: everything had withered and died. Yukinari began to remember the time when his first wife would sit in the garden with his daughter, reading a book to her underneath the cherry-blossom tree. He remembered that warm smile she gave him as she paused and gazed in his direction, while Suzumi squeaked at her mother to continue with the story. Those memories still remained fresh in his mind, even after a few long centuries.

The Vampire Lord was slowly aging with the common grey hairs and wrinkled skin. None of the well-known diseases that attack the elderly ever affected him. Only battle scars remained. _For as old as I am, I should have Alzheimer's disease, _Yukinari chuckled. _yet I am better off resting peacefully in my grave._

Yukinari smiled, thinking how happy he was being home again. it had brought back memories of his childhood all the way up to his adulthood until the time he had to abandon his father's palace after the disappearance of his daughter, Suzumi. Yukinari had not given up hope in searching for her, for he knew that she would rise again as a reincarnation that might be difficult to find. He knew she was somewhere in Japan.

Looking towards the hazy morning sky, the sun was rising over the horizon. The palace wasn't too far from the city of Kyoto. Since the palace was believed to be the grounds of evil spirits, it wasn't much of a surprise to the Vampire Lord that the humans continued to stay off their property. There was no sign of vandalism or any other damage, although there were remnants of past rituals scattered about. It seemed Shinto priests were brave enough to walk on the sacred grounds, although they were probably scared half to death while they were ridding the land of the so-called "evil spirits." Yukinari thought their prayers weren't enough to rid of their presence here.

"My Lord." Shurii spoke quietly among the morning frost air, and then stood up straight as he gave his friend a small but warm smile.

Yukinari bowed in return, then rose. "It is good to be back in Kyoto, wouldn't you agree?" he asked.

Shurii took a few steps and stood next to Yukinari, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, "_Hai_, _Yukinari-sama_, it is good be home," he replied, "I was beginning to miss this place—the quiet atmosphere renders the calm in my soul. Tokyo had gotten my spirit trapped in its spiral of diversity. Being here at the Palace again, where we are isolated and peaceful... it takes the fear away from my spirit."

Yukinari couldn't agree more. Things in Tokyo were getting bad: the Japanese Police were investigating the Tokyo Tower after the huge commotion the Angels and Vampires had caused. If the Vampires were found, they would surely be arrested and taken somewhere to be examined by scientists or some other sort of organization.

"I agree with you, Shurii," Yukinari replied. "My father chose a good place for the palace to be isolated from the humans. Luckily they haven't bothered anything at all."

Shurii nodded. "Since they believe these grounds are filled with evil spirits…they know they cannot disturb us."

Yukinari smiled.

"How is your eye feeling, sir?"

Yukinari tapped his finger at his right eye. "Better, I suppose," he said with a sigh. "Hanako sure did me a good one, eh, Shurii?"

"I was glad it was not the death of you, my Lord. Better keep your senses before she thrusts her sword straight into your heart," Shurii said, turning to him.

"I am not too concerned with Hanako right now, Shurii. My main concern is looking for Suzumi," Yukinari said. "My hope in finding her hasn't run dry."

Shurii nodded. "I assure you we will find her, sir."

Yukinari smiled, placing his hand on his companion's other shoulder. "Yes. Thank you, Shurii."

Hanako stepped outside, inhaling the clean fresh air of the morning dew, gazing at the azure-blue sky combined with the colors of the abyss-colored universe. Gaia was close to her sister planet, Terra—or Earth, as others called it. Her brown eyes gazed up at it with a mixture of longing and hatred. Hanako's archenemy still lived and breathed on that planet.

_Yukinari_. His name echoed in her mind. Those ruby-red eyes… the wicked smile, the way he spoke such words to her and what he wished to do with her that would only occurred in her worst nightmares.

Her eyes narrowed, and her fists clenched. How could she just stand there and not know what the Vampire Lord was doing? Plotting a plan to kill her and her people? Still searching for his daughter Suzumi? Hanako had no clue what he was planning, but she felt the urge to return to Earth to wipe him and his race out once and for all.

After she had returned from her mission, she had failed miserably by letting Yukinari live…all because of one person begging her and Leiko to spare his life.

Hanako spared him but swore that she would return…and that would be very soon.

Mayura had spoken with Hanako shortly after her return.

Hanako had feared the worst, since she had spared the Vampire Lord's life. She had knelt on one knee before the fiery-haired woman, head bowed.

"Though you failed to kill him, Hanako," Mayura said, "as I told you before, we cannot kill them all at once. Though they are doing everything they can to repopulate, and with haste. They are looking for Yukinari's daughter Suzumi."

Hanako looked up, nodding, feeling a little relieved. She rose to her feet then she bowed slightly at the woman. "Forgive me, my lady, I will not fail you again."

Mayura waved her hand and placed the other on Hanako's shoulder. "Apologizes are not needed, General." She gazed into the younger Angel's eyes. "There is little time for that. We must do what must be done. You know your mission: to kill the Vampires."

"Yes." Hanako nodded.

"Are you ready to give your first report on the Vampires to the Council, General?" Mayura asked.

Hanako wanted to decline because she didn't want to face them and tell them that she had failed. However, she knew she couldn't. "I am afraid the five other members may be disappointed, my lady, but I will go and give the report," Hanako replied apprehensively.

Mayura nodded, smiling. "They will understand, General."

"What do you mean you hesitated in killing him, General?" one of the Councilmen yelled, slamming his fist down on the table.

Hanako stood still on the marbled floor, looking straight ahead, not making any eye-contact with council members. _I knew they were going to be upset,_ she thought. _I knew I shouldn't have hesitated! I should've gone against that Vampire's plea and killed him!_ She thought back to the moment to the man in the samurai armor, standing in front of the creature that she hated the most…

"Councilman Odin, please!" Mayura shouted, rising from her seat quickly. "Sit down!" she commanded.

The man named Odin gave a low growl, sitting back down in his seat. "That bastard does not deserve to breathe air into his lungs! He should be slaughtered in the most horrible way! This is _not_ what the Council wants to hear General! You should've—"

"Councilman Odin! That is _enough_!" Mayura's voice boomed; her head shot in his direction. Odin followed Mayura's command, sitting back down.

Sitting next to Odin was a man with dark-brown skin, emerald-green eyes, and jet-black hair. He gazed down at Hanako. "General, will you state the reason you hesitated to kill Lord Yukinari?" he asked.

Hanako inhaled slightly, trying to find the right explanation for her failure. "Yes," she replied. "You see, when had thrown down Lord Yukinari, I was going to strike him with my sword until one of his hunters had approached me, begging me to spare his life."

The council went quiet, exchanging questioning looks with one another. "And you simply let him go, General?" Azar said, giving her a look of awe.

Hanako swallowed. "Yes, sir," she replied.

"General Ria didn't disappoint us like this, _ever_," Odin spat, sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed. Mayura shot him a death glare; he simply avoided it and kept quiet.

A man with medium-length blue hair cleared his throat. "Well, General, I am not disappointed in your report as it is your first mission," he said, pushing his spectacles up with his index finger. "We have taken a long time to prepare your army for this battle. I had predicted that this wasn't going to be so easy, since Lord Yukinari is doing everything he can to search for his daughter."

Hanako nodded, she thought it would be better to not speak at all for the moment as it seemed that the council was somewhat disappointed in her.

"General Hanako." Mayura looked down on her. "Do you have anything else to say to the Council before we dismiss you?"

Hanako bowed. "Yes, my lady. I deeply apologize for my actions, and I assure you, on the next mission I will not fail you."

Mayura nodded. "Thank you, General. You are dismissed."

Hanako bowed again, turning on her heel to leave the Conference chambers.

Mayura let out a deep sigh. A woman with long purple hair turned towards her, "Mayura, was this a wise decision to appoint Hanako as General?" she asked. "I am a bit concerned about the decision she had made by letting the Vampire Lord go."

"I know, Raziya, but we have to keep our faith in her in order for her to succeed." Mayura replied.

Odin scoffed. "I had a feeling that Hanako wasn't the best choice for her position as General."

"Now let's not get all worked up about Hanako. She is trying her best, and we should at least give her some support!" one woman said, sitting next to the man with blue hair and glasses.

"Xavira is right," Mayura stood up, "We cannot have our doubts about Hanako, if we can all agree to show her the proper support then she will be able to finish Yukinari off."

"Yes but General Hanako must do something quick before he finds his daughter, Lady Mayura," Azar responded. "Once he finds his daughter it might be too late for us…he and his daughter will probably be too powerful for the General and her army."

Mayura shook her head. "No, I know it won't be too late, even if he finds his daughter. I know General Hanako and the others will be able to overthrow them."

Hanako walked along the marbled path towards the water fountain. Sighing to herself, she thought that she was one big failure after her first mission.

_I can't believe I was stupid enough to actually let that demon live…_

She sat down beside the water fountain. The water fountain was made out of white marble. The statue in the middle was of the goddess from Greek mythology, Aphrodite. The Goddess was accompanied by two doves, one in her hand and the other on her shoulder.

The sun's rays shone down on Hanako as her wings unfolded from her back. Resting one hand on her chin, she sighed again.

She heard footsteps approaching until she looked up. In the distance she saw a man with green hair approaching her. Her eyes squinted to get a better vision of the stranger approaching her. Then she smiled. "Tsukasa!" she yelled, jumping up and waving her hand in the air.

Tsukasa had long green hair and deep blue eyes. He was strong and had strong facial

features. He wore a blue-violet colored cape over his black and blue armor. He had arm

guards and black gloves bearing the symbol of wings.

Tsukasa chuckled, moving closer towards Hanako. "It's good to see you again, Hanako! Or shall call you General Hanako?"

"Ah, don't be so formal, Tsukasa." Hanako swatted her hand at him. "Just because I'm in a higher position doesn't mean you have to address me like that now."

"Well, you're of higher rank now, so I should be polite to you! Since I'm just in one of the top ranks of the army, I feel I should address you that way."

Hanako smiled. "All right. If you feel you need to, my dear friend. When did you get back?"

Tsukasa had been out on a mission with the all-male military, trying to restore order in the West with the Western Vampires.

"Yes, I had just gotten back not too long ago and I wanted to come see you, ask you how your first mission went."

Hanako shook her head, "Not as I had hoped it would be, Tsukasa."

"Why? What happened?"

Hanako explained to Tsukasa what had happened: interrupting the Gathering and fighting Yukinari; Yukinari kissing her; and how the report to the Council had gone.

"That monster kissed you?" Tsukasa was shocked.

Hanako nodded. "Yes, I was quite surprised. I am still upset over him doing that to me…that damn creature!" she hissed.

"And you let him live by listening to that karyuudo?"

"It was foolish of me to let him live. Now he's continuing his search for his daughter, but at least I damaged his eyesight. I cut his right eye, giving him a long thick cut."

Tsukasa nodded. "He may be in pain, and the wound is going to slow him down a bit."

"It is just enough for us to do another attack on him and stop him from reaching his daughter," Hanako replied. "Even though it might be impossible for him to locate her…if he thinks she's still in Japan."

"Eastern Vampires are very different from Western Vampires, so it is a possibly that he could pick up her presence right away."

"Yes, he probably has ties with Western Vampires to see if she might be over there,"

"I don't think he does, Hanako. The East and West do not get along very well," Tsukasa said. "Hmm, here I thought they would be taking it that they are different in many ways I see now that they wouldn't get along."

Tsukasa nodded. "Yes, because you have to remember that they all have different characteristics."

Hanako looked at Tsukasa. "Shall we go to my place to visit more in private?"

"Sure, I could use a drink of your tea right about now, Hanako. This mission has worn me out after being gone for so long."

Hanako and Tsukasa returned to Hanako's chambers in the palace, where she brewed some herbal tea for the both of them. She poured two cups, grabbing both in each hand and blowing slightly on them. She smiled, walking towards the table and sat across from Tsukasa. "Here you go," she said, passing his cup, "Be careful, it's still a little hot."

"Thank you, General." He grinned at her.

He blew on his tea slightly and began to take sips of the tea. He looked up. "You always find the best tea, Hanako. Where do you get them?"

"Oh, I usually get them on Earth or buy them here," Hanako replied. "It's nothing too special."

Tsukasa smiled. "Ah, but it is the best I've ever tasted. It helps that I like having any kind of tea with you, Hanako…and I also like just being in your presence."

Hanako blushed, "Thank you, Tsukasa, you're…too kind."

"So, besides the missions and the Council hounding you for giving a bad report on your first mission, how do you feel about all this, Hanako?" Tsukasa asked, taking another sip of his tea.

"My feelings about all this are kind of mixed, I suppose you could say," Hanako replied, taking a sip of her tea too. "I don't know why I get the feeling that I might not be doing a very good job here. Maybe I'm just afraid of putting my army in danger."

Tsukasa put his cup down. "Don't worry about how well you're doing, Hanako. You need to look at the positive things of your position. You are the successor of General Ria and you shouldn't be worrying about what everyone else thinks." He picked up his cup and took the last sip. "The only thing you should worry about is wiping out Yukinari and his hell spawn."

He grabbed her hand. Hanako froze, as he continued.

"I know you will succeed in defeating them and you will have great favor of the Council, Hanako, Lady Mayura has great faith in you."

Hanako smiled. "You're right, Tsukasa. Maybe I'm just discouraging myself after I gave my report today. Councilman Odin wasn't too happy with it"

"Councilman Odin is so uptight. You know that. Just ignore him."

Hanako nodded. Looking down, she saw that Tsukasa still held her hand. Tsukasa quickly pulled away, clearing his throat. "Well, um, I think I should be going now Hanako," he blushed, rising from his seat. "I have to meet up with Councilman Azar and General Vladimir." He walked towards the door. Hanako followed him.

"Thank you for the tea, Hanako, I will have to stop by again tonight." He smiled, standing outside her door.

Hanako leaned on her doorway, "Yes, you should stop by again if you have time," she said, smiling, "Thank you for visiting with me. I appreciate it."

"No problem, General. I will see you later tonight." Tsukasa turned to leave, waving his hand. "Farewell for now_._"

"See you later."

Yukinari sighed as he sat patiently on the floor as a young woman unwrap his bandages, checking his wound. When it was finally unraveled, she rubbed her index finger on his scar with medicine. Yukinari flinched as she pressed her finger on his right eye, "It's still pretty painful, so be careful." He demanded.

"_Gomen nasai Yukinari-sama_. (I'm sorry, Lord Yukinari)" She replied, trying to be gentler with him.

Yukinari responded only with a grunt.

The door slid open as Shurii made his entrance, getting down his knees he bowed, then rose up to a sitting position. "Sir, we have searched the city for Suzumi," he said. "Any luck?" Yukinari asked as the young woman wrapped bandages around his head.

"No sir, the others haven't felt her presence." Shurii replied.

Yukinari sighed, "If we cannot find her here in Kyoto, then she must be else where," the woman backed away from Yukinari and left the room. "Move the search to Tokyo, make sure the karyuudo disguise themselves and not to seem too suspicious, understood?"

Shurii bowed, "Yes, sir." Rising from his spot he left the room, leaving Yukinari to think quietly to himself. _Why can't we find you, Suzumi?_

A girl with long red hair stood waiting at the crowded substation; she adjusted her sunglasses and turned the volume up on her mp3 player. The man standing next to her looked at her, supposedly because her music was too loud. She paid no attention to the man next to her nor the people around her as the song played.

_Kimi no sono jiyuu ga mabushi sugiru  
To yuu shoujo ni  
Sonzai suru imi sura mitsuke rare naku temo  
To kotaeta_

She hummed to the lyrics as the subway approached. As it came to a screeching halt, her phone rang; she pulled the earphones from her ears and quickly scrambled in her purse to find it. "_Moishi-moishi_?" she said, stepping into the sub car.

"Hey Kasu-chan!" A male's voice rang out, screaming in her ear.

She pulled the phone away from her ear, sweat dropping. "Satoshi, what's up?"

"Where you at? Are you coming to my place or what?"

"Yeah, I'm getting on the subway right now and making my way back. Why?"

"'Cause I have something for you, plus some of my friends are coming over tonight," he replied.

The redhead smiled. "Oh, really? Well, all right, but I have to stop by my apartment first to drop my stuff off."

"All right. Mind if I meet you over there?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Okay! See you there! _Ja!_"

She hung up and made her way through the crowd to grab an empty seat next to the window. She felt a sharp pain in her head. "Ow!" she said quietly, pressing her fingers down on her head. The redhead had begun having pains in her head last week. Satoshi had suggested that she go see a doctor, but she refused. "It's probably just stress," she told him. She was too stubborn to go to one anyway.

_Kasumi…_

A voice whispered, the girl jumped, looking through the crowd. Everyone was too busy either reading through a newspaper or looking out the window. _Kasumi!_ The voice spoke louder. "What?" she said out loud, a few people stared at her then looked away.

_Don't let them find you, Kasumi._

Kasumi looked around again, searching through the crowd. _Don't let who find me?_

_These men will be searching for you, Kasumi. They will be dressed in black. Whatever you do, don't let them take you!_

_Why?_

_Because they'll bring me back and want to use me for restoring order to my people._

Kasumi reached for her cell phone, trying to make it look like she was talking. "_Your_ people? Who are you?" she whispered.

_I am the daughter of a Vampire ruler, and you're my reincarnation._

"What?"

_I know this sounds crazy, but you have to understand that if they find you, they'll awaken my soul and force me to become the Nigousan._

"Nigousan?"

_A position that is handed down through the female generations of my family. They have to have royal blood in order to become the Nigousan. Their purpose is to restore order and possibly repopulate the race._

Kasumi couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had another soul living in her body? How could that be? Was that why she was having those sharp pains in her head? Was the girl trying to get her attention?

"Who are you?"

_I am you, and you're me. You and I share the same body, although the part of my spirit that resides within you will awaken soon. I have telepathy and telekinesis powers. I will use these powers if they find us._

"Yes, but…what is your name?"

_My name is Suzumi._

**A/N:** I know it has almost been two years since I wrote the last chapter. XD I finally have the first chapter finished! GO ME! Anyway, feedback is much appreciated and sorry if I went too quickly on this. :/


	3. Two: The Girl and The Nigousan

**Of Angels and Vampires**

**Chapter Two**

The Girl

And

The Nigousan

By Fallon

Kasumi exited the sub station, running up the stairs with a quick pace. She merged in with the moving crowd in Kyoto, slowing down to put her mp3 player in her red tote bag. She needed to be on the lookout, as the voice of Suzumi in her head had told her so. A million things were going through her mind: how could two souls intertwine with one body?

She dodged bumping shoulders with people that walked past her as she was making her way towards her apartment to meet up with Satoshi.

Kasumi opened the door and slammed it shut. She did a quick pace up the stairs to apartment 212. She was expecting Satoshi to be waiting for her at her door, but he did not appear. She stuck her key into the door knob, turning the key and opening her door. She quickly shut it, throwing her bag on the kitchen floor.

Kasumi sat on her couch, digging her fingers into her red hair. How could it be? How can it be possible?

Questions ran through her mind. She sighed, placing her hands down on the sofa.

"Suzumi, how can this be?" she asked.

'You're my incarnate, Kasumi, I have become a part of you because I know that my father will be looking for me.'

"Your father?"

'Yes, my father is ruler of the Japanese Vampires. He has been looking for me since I disappeared long ago. I was reincarnated with you when you were born. My people have been lead to believe this because the lineage of the Nigousan. I am chosen to become the Nigousan when my race is beginning to decline, but I will have to refuse.'

"Why do you refuse?"

'My father wants me to embrace my destiny of becoming the Nigousan to save our people, but I have different things in mind. I feel it is not my duty to save my people because since my father is the leader, I think it should be his duty.'

"So, how did you become a part of me?"

'After I had died, my soul wandered, looking for the right young woman to become a part of, trying to hide from my father and my people. I didn't want them to find me, to awake me and have them use me for something that really isn't necessary. I went from one body to the next after they had died. I saw many different things, felt different things…love, sadness, anger…I had fell in love with many men, but there was one man I could never forget.'

"Who?"

'His name was Takeshi, I'm not sure if he is still alive to this day, but I was a young girl when I fell in love with him. Before I left, I told him that I would find him again. Centuries went by and I never ran into him…my heart aches for him, for he was my first love. I still hope to see him again, and I hope it is soon.'

Kasumi sat on the sofa, staring at the floor. "You have waited all these years for him and running from your father?"

'Yes, I have. I don't want to face what I must become, because it is foolish for my father and my people to believe in such a thing. I hope that you're careful to where they never find you, but I have this feeling that they are getting closer.'

"What will happen if they do?"

'They will take you away, to my father's palace, and there they will make me come out and force me to take my duty.'

Kasumi was about to say something, but was suddenly interrupted by a loud knocking on her door.

"Who is it?" She asked, placing her hand on the door knob, looking through the peep hole of her door.

"Hey, it's me Satoshi!" Satoshi said, giving her a big smile towards the peep hole.

Kasumi opened the door, standing aside, "I was wondering what happened to you, what took you so long?"

Satoshi walked inside as Kasumi shut the door behind him. He took at seat at her sofa, sighing and putting his hands behind his head, "Well, I had to stop by Kenji's place; he invited me over as I was on my way here. So I had to stop by to see what he wanted."

"And?" Kasumi said, sitting down next to him.

"_And_ I went there and he was showing me the news of how Tokyo Tower was vandalized by an unknown source. They're still investigating of what happened there."

"Tokyo Tower was vandalized? What happened?" She asked, she then felt a sharp pain in her head. "Ow!" She yelped, quickly putting one hand on the top of her head.

"You ok?" Satoshi asked, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Ye-Yeah, I'm fine." Kasumi replied, still having her hand on her head. "Do the police have any idea how it was vandalized?"

"Don't know, they said it might've been a shoot out for Yakuza, but they aren't completely sure. It could've been anything. No witnesses were at the scene."

"Hmm, that's strange."

'I know who it was, Kasumi.' Suzumi finally spoke.

'You do?' She thought, replying back.

'Yes, there is a war going on between the Angels and Vampires, it has been for centuries.'

"What?" She blurted out, feeling shocked.

"Huh?" Satoshi looked at Kasumi, "Do you want to say something?"

Kasumi shifted in her sitting position, coughing, "Ah, no. I really didn't want to say anything!" She blandly played that off, not a very good cover-up.

Satoshi gave her an odd expression, "Well, do you want to go out to eat or something? Maybe go over to Kenji's to find out if he has heard anything else?"

Kasumi nodded her head, "Sure, why not." She replied with uncertainty in her voice. She hoped that whoever is looking for her, won't find her while she out.

"Is something wrong Kasumi? Are you sure you want to go over there?" Satoshi asked, he seemed a little concerned. "Yeah, I'm sure. Nothing is the matter, Satoshi, I'm fine, really. Let's just go over to Kenji's." Kasumi got up and grabbed her red tote bag, heading towards the door.

"Alright," Satoshi said, getting up and following her to the door. "I just don't want you to feel like this is going to be a mistake. We could just stay here, you know?"

She stopped as she opened the door, shaking her head, "No, I want to go over there, to find out what he knows and maybe we could hang out there."

_Be careful, Kasumi. Be on the look out for them._ Suzumi warned her. _We have to stay low, remember?_

'Yes, I know, it's not that long of a walk, we'll be fine.' Kasumi felt uneasy, but she had to go over there to find out what happened…maybe these could be clues to what she could find out about the Japanese Vampires.

Yukinari wandered the halls of the palace, recalling his memories when he was last here. He knew it had to do with something of his daughter's disappearance, his second wife leaving him, and him being all alone.

He entered one of the rooms, which happened to be his chambers at the time. The curtains that hung from the bed posts were tattered and torn; the lavender color was faded, barely visible from recognition. He placed one hand on the right post, gazing down at the destroyed bed. He recalled the memories of the many nights he spent here, making love to his two previous wives and to the time he felt lost after everything he loved had left him.

Shurii appeared standing in the doorway, watching his leader look upon old memories. He cleared his throat to make his presence noticed, "Sir," he spoke as Yukinari turned around. "What is it Shurii?" Yukinari replied.

"I hope you don't mind me interrupting, but I wanted to inform you that our men are still out there searching for Suzumi."

"Any sign of her?"

Shurii bowed his head, "No my lord, but they will quickly report back when they find her."

Yukinari placed a hand on his wounded left eye, sighing, "You know what I was thinking, Shurii?"

"What is that, my lord?"

"Since we are home, I believe we should rebuild the palace, fix it up."

Shurii nodded, "I couldn't agree with you more, sir, to celebrate Suzumi's return as well as ours to the palace?"

"Of course," Yukinari replied, smiling, "A celebration sounds excellent, but we need to fix this place up to make it look decent."

"Yes sir, I will gather a group of individuals to start cleaning up right away!" Shurii bowed, exiting Yukinari's chambers.

"Ah, I am fond of your quick actions, Shurii." Yukinari said as he watched Shurii leave. He knew he could never be disappointed with his companion. He soon followed behind Shurii, watching him gather a few strong men to move the debris from the main hall. Women brushed the dirt and dust off the walls and the floors with brooms and hung scrolls of Japanese art: a picture of the late Yoshitomo, cherry blossoms and sheets of various colors on the walls and paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

Yukinari observed the people running about clearing the floors, two men ran towards him with a large throne that they placed behind him. Yukinari settled into the chair, still watched his people run back and forth, working hard to clean up.

"This is wonderful, it seems like things are coming into place now." He said, "Once when Suzumi returns, our home shall be complete and we can finally restore order to what it was before…destruction upon the humans." He said, as a grin crept upon his lips. "We will finally rise from the ashes, become the fear that all of Japan has known to feel! Re-awaken that fear in their hearts. We will be _victorious_!" He shouted, standing up from his throne, throwing his hands in the air and let out a roaring laughter, the people did not stop from their duties, they continued their tasks.

Hanako walked down the long hallway towards Mayura's chambers. She received a message from one of her servants, asking her to come over to her place to discuss the war with the Japanese Vampires. She finally approached the double doors that were painted gold; she inhaled and exhaled, hoping that this discussion wasn't going to turn out bad.

Hanako knocked on the door until hearing Mayura's voice, "Enter," she spoke. Hanako slowly pulled the door open, peering in and seeing a bright light coming from the room. Mayura stood out on her balcony; both of her hands were raised towards the night sky as she held a glowing light above her head. She looked over her shoulder and seen Hanako standing there, bowing before her. She smiled, looking over her shoulder. The light dispersed instantly as she lowered her hands to her sides.

"Good evening Hanako," she greeted, waving her hand as a signal for Hanako to rise.

"Good evening, Lady Mayura." Hanako replied, slightly nodding her head.

"Do you know why I have sent for you, General?" Mayura asked, approaching Hanako.

"Is there a possibility that we might discuss the war with the Japanese vampires?" Hanako replied.

"Yes, indeed it is, my dear," Mayura smiled, "after your dismiss from the council, I had spoke with the members about your duty of being General. Some disagreed with my decision of making you General, but others were on my side to say I had done the right thing."

Hanako was silent for a moment, not knowing what to say. She knew she had made a huge mistake to listen to that vampire that wanted her to spare Yukinari's life.

"Do not dwell on your mistakes, Hanako; like I have said before, I don't want you to kill the vampires all at once." Mayura said, walking around Hanako in a circle, examining her.

"I followed as you instructed my lady, but I fear it was a mistake that I did not kill Yukinari, for you and I know very well that he has his intentions of searching for his daughter. He may have found her by now." Hanako said; her eyes cast down to the floor.

"Yes, he might have, but I believe he may not have found her just yet," Mayura stopped her pacing and stood in front of Hanako. "Even if he finds her, though it may turn out that it will make them stronger, I believe we still have a chance of defeating them."

Hanako nodded, lifting her eyes to stare into Mayura's rudy-red eyes. "It hard to have such faith, my lady, but I know my duty as General is that I cannot let you or Gaia down."

"I know you are trying your best, Hanako, but I want you to know that I have great faith in you that you will be able to succeed. It does not matter what others think, it is about you and the position you are in. I choose you to be in this position because I knew you had the abilities that complete it. You need to be optimistic, you need not to worry."

Mayura placed her hand on Hanako's shoulder, smiling. "You can do this, Hanako."

Hanako smiled, "Thank you ma'am, your words mean a lot to me. I am glad you have support in me."

"I always will, Hanako, there is not a doubt in my mind if anything terrible would happen with your position."

"Thank you."

Mayura embraced Hanako for a few moments. Hanako felt the warmth from her body surround her, giving her a feeling of relief and hope. How could she ever let her down?

"I have something to show you, General," Mayura said as she pulled away from her, walking towards the balacony. Hanako followed, wondering what it was that she wanted her to see.

"The light I was holding above me was showing me what Yukinari's next move is, though there is no doubt that he is getting closer to capturing Suzumi, her incarnator." Mayura lifted her hands again to the sky, a bright light suddenly appear before the two women. The light shined a yellow-golden color, revealing the image of Yukinari standing amongst his people, watching them run about.

Hanako was shocked, she recognized the place he was in. "Has he returned to his palace?"

"Indeed he has, Hanako." Mayura replied, "He is rebuilding the palace to celebrate the return of his daughter and his people's return to their home. I have a feeling this return to the palace will automatically indicate that they are starting over again."

Hanako shook her head, in disbelief, "No, this cannot be…I should've ignored that vampire…_I should've killed him_!"

"Do not blame yourself Hanako, this is not the end." The image changed as did the color of the lighting to a pale blue, revealing a young girl with red hair, looking uneasy.

"This is Suzumi and her incarnate, a young girl named Kasumi."

Hanako looked closely at the girl, she undoubtedly resembled Suzumi, same features—eyes, hair. It was like Suzumi had never died, though if the Japanese vampires were looking her, this girl would be easily noticed for the taking.

"So she has returned, my lady?" Hanako kept her eyes on the girl.

"Not quite," Mayura replied, lowering her hands as the light slowly faded, little droplets of light scattered on the floor. "The Vampires have yet to find her, once when they do, they'll have her gather her people, awaken other humans who are incarnates of past vampires, they'll come to her, quickly repopulating."

"What does she have to do in order to call out to the others?"

Mayura and Hanako went inside her chambers, sitting on her bed. "In order for Suzumi to embrace her position as Nigousan, a ceremony is preformed for her, there she will awaken her powers that will call out and draw the people to her."

Hanako was taken aback, is this how Yukinari will grow stronger? "Might I ask of how you know this, my lady?"

"I know the ways of the Japanese Vampires because I, like you, had fought Yukinari's father, Yoshitomo, long ago. This was long before you were born, but I knew of the Nigousan and had witnessed the birth of Yukinari, all by watching from a distance and with the help from the Council."

Hanako was surprised by how Lady Mayura knew so much, she was wise for her position as Leader of Gaia, having so much experience with the war with the Japanese Vampires and among other wars with the supernatural beings.

"You witnessed the birth of Yukinari?"

"Yes, I had seen it from a distance since I heard that Yoshimoto's wife was bearing an heir to his regime. I knew that this would embark a new beginning for the Earth and Gaia. With Yukinari being brought into this world had stirred fear among the people of Gaia. We all knew that the Japanese Vampires were going to grow stronger with the birth of Lord Yoshitomo's son."

Mayura moved towards her bed, sitting down and turned her attention towards Hanako, continuing her story, "We began to plan the battle with the Japanese Vampires, I was leading my army to the palace and they could sense our presence right away."

Hanako sat down by Mayura, listening carefully, "What happened next?"

"We tried to throw down Yoshimoto and his men, but their numbers were too great, so we had to leave and try again later, which we did. The second time we came back, Yukinari was a young boy and I had killed his father right before his eyes."

Hanak gasped, Mayura shook her head. "It was all I could do, either I was going to die or Yoshitomo was, so I had to make the choice."

"This gives Yukinari another reason to hate us." Hanako whispered.

"Yes, but they have always hated us since the beginning; good versus evil. They have loathed the beings of Light for what we stood for, defending mankind. All they want is fear and destruction, it is what they thrive and feed off of." Mayura sighed, shifting her eyes to her teal-colored blankets.

"The beings of Darkness and Light, Angels and Vampires." Hanako muttered, pulling her attention away from Mayura for a few moments.

"All right General, I think it is best that you should go." Mayura spoke, breaking Hanako's thoughts. "I need to sleep and I shall see you in the morning."

Hanako nodded, "Yes my lady, good night." She got off the bed, bowed, and left the room.

Mayura pulled the blankets from her bed and settled herself in, looking out at her balcony that exposed the night sky. She was thinking back at the time she had killed Yoshitomo, recalling those words he spoke to her.

_Yoshitomo fell to his knees, dropping his sword to his side. He felt the blood pour out from his stomach as he gazed at the woman before him. Her red flaming hair flowed at the slight breeze that passed as did her three wings that sprouted from her back. Her ruby eyes were as narrow as her sword that pierced him a deathly blow. He turned his head, looking at the young boy who stood a few feet away from him. The little boy's mouth gapped opened as tears were streaming down his face. His mother held him tightly in her arms, weeping. _

"_Papa," he whispered._

_Yoshitomo quickly shifted his head back to the woman, extending his arm and pointing at the little boy, "My son," he gasped, "will end your race. You and your people. Every single one of you! Gaia will no longer exist when he is ruler!"_

_The woman placed her hands on the hilt of her sword, "Gaia will continue to exist." She replied, keeping her hands on the hilt, "No one can destroy us, not even your heir."_

_His eyes widened as she quickly pulled the sword from his stomach. Yoshitomo fell forward as one side of his face was buried in the dirt._

Mayura lied down in her bed, staring at the ceiling, 'Please Hanako, do not fail Gaia.'

Hanako walked down the long hallway, thinking to herself about Mayura and the Japanese Vampires.

'I won't let Lady Mayura down, I can't.' She thought, walking briskly to her home. 'Even if Yukinari finds Suzumi, there is still a chance that we can win.' She reached for her door, opening it and closing it behind her. She leaned against the door, sighing heavily. 'I can't fail, I must succeed.'

Kasumi observed nervously the crowd around her, keeping a close watch if she and Satoshi were being followed.

'There's no use in watching your back, just get there so they don't see you.' Suzumi said.

Kasumi followed close behind Satoshi, she quickly moved and walked beside him, bumping shoulders with the people that walked by.

"Are you sure you're ok? You seem nervous." Satoshi asked, grabbing ahold of her hand and stroking her skin.

Kasumi looked down, surprised, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little nervous to hear about that news of Tokyo Tower." She smiled at him.

"Alright, just checking, we're almost there." Satoshi replied, leading her away from the crowd and into a building that seemed ten stories high.

"Great." She sighed, relieved.

A man dressed in black stood among the crowd, watching the couple enter the building. He turned his head towards another man standing a few feet away, seeing the same as he did. The man nodded to the other. A woman approached the man that had seen the couple, "I saw them enter that building," he said, pointing to it. "Report this back to Lord Yukinari, hurry." The woman nodded and said nothing, turning she moved quickly away from the crowd into an ally way. She folded her hands with two of her next fingers pointing upwards close to her mouth. She whispered something and in a flash she disappeared.

Satoshi opened the door and shut it behind him, letting Kasumi walk in front of him. They walked up the stairs to the fifth floor, hanging a left down a long hallway of brown-colored doors, each with numbers etched with black and gold numbers in the center. Satoshi and Kasumi stood at the fifth door down from the entrance of the hallway, apartment number 505. Satoshi pounded on the door, waiting for a few minutes for a reply, "Just a second!" A voice yelled. They heard a loud _**thud!**_ then the door swung open revealing an out of breathe Kenji. He smiled at them, opening his door wider for them to come in, "Hey guys, c'mon on in!"

The couple entered his apartment, Satoshi gave a firm handshake to Kenji, "Well, I'm back again Kenji, did you find anything more about what happened to Tokyo Tower?"

Kenji made his way back to his computer desk, showing the latest news on the "vandalized" Tokyo Tower. "They found traces of blood on the floor, but no bodies were found. It seems like whoever was there must've gotten into a fight, killed a few people, and drug the bodies out so no evidence were left behind."

The three gathered around Kenji's computer, looking at a news website of the investigations of what had happened three days ago. It seemed to be the big story of the past few days, Tokyo Tower being destroyed by an unknown group. Could it have been gangsters in a quarrel?

Kenji clicked on a link, revealing a streaming video, "This is what's happening right now, the police have been at it all day."

The video showed yellow tape wrapped around the building with reporters scattered all over the place. A female reporter with lavender-colored hair appeared on the screen, "As you can see, police are still investigating of what happened to Tokyo Tower. There have been reports of no witnesses, as they assume this happened sometime around midnight. Police have found only one piece of evidence and that are various streaks of blood around the Tower. Those blood samples are currently going under some tests and we will have more reports of that later. Right now they do not have any suspects, though they do assume it might have been gang-related. Though the question is, how did they get in when the Tower was closed? Questions have been raised, but solutions need to be found. I am Yumiko Tsukada reporting for Fuji News Network."

"Hmm, if they've found blood, then I'm sure they'll be able to find whoever did this." Satoshi said, stepping a few step back from the two people.

Kasumi kept her eyes on the computer screen, reading the headlines that were plastered all over the webpage.

'It's them, Kasumi. This is the war of the Angels and Vampires.' said Suzumi.

Kasumi nodded her head, feeling a slight tingle of pain in her head that began to grow stronger by the minute. She dare didn't winch, she moved towards Kenji's hallway, turning, "Could I use your bathroom, Kenji?"

Kenji smiled, "Sure, go ahead, it's just down that hallway."

Kasumi walked down the hallway to the bathroom, she shut and locked the door behind her. She moved towards the sink, leaning on it. She had her head down, staring at the dripping water that leaked from the sink. She sighed, tilting her head up and looking at herself in the mirror. Her reflection did not show herself, but Suzumi. Suzumi was identical to her, but with short red hair.

Kasumi gasped as Suzumi shook her head.

"Don't be afraid,"

"My reflection—"

"You're my incarnation, remember?"

Kasumi slightly nodded her head, calming herself. "So that's where the battle took place then, Tokyo Tower?"

"Yes, and this is only the beginning. They're out there Kasumi, looking for you. When you were out there walking here, I don't know if you noticed that you were being watched."

The girl leaning on the sink narrowed her blue eyes, "What? No, I hadn't—"

"You should've! Now they're coming after us!" Suzumi cut in with her brow furrowing.

The two men that had watched Satoshi and Kasumi enter the building, walked up the stairs. One was tall and broad-shouldered with short brown hair. The other was a little shorter than the first one; he had short brown-red hair. Both dressed in black, the man signaled to the other to move down the hallway. They moved quietly down the hallway until they reached apartment number 505. They stood by each side of the door, looking at each other.

"So, have you asked her out yet Satoshi?" Kenji asked, smiling.

"Not yet," Satoshi replied, slightly blushing.

"You wuss, quit beatin' around the bush and just ask her!"

"Lay off, I'm just giving it some time!"

Kasumi came running out of the hallway into Kenji's living room, "We need to get out of here, now!" She yelled, reaching for her red tote bag.

"Why, what's going on?" Kenji asked, quickly getting up from his chair.

"What's the matter?" Satoshi questioned, moving towards the girl.

"Don't ask why, we need to go!" Kasumi was about to head for the door until it suddenly burst open.

The three froze, Kasumi's eyes widened at the sudden impact, there two men entered Kenji's apartment, their eyes focusing on Kasumi.

"We've been looking for you for quite some time now, _Suzumi-nigousan_." The man with short brown hair hissed, approaching towards her.

Kasumi's eyes suddenly turned a light blue color, glowing. "Don't call me that! I will never return to my father!" She yelled.

Both Satoshi and Kenji looked at the girl shocked, "What? What's going on? Kasumi?" Satoshi muttered, not knowing what to think.

Kasumi turned her head to the young man, her eyes were of a dark and light blue glow, "I'm sorry you had to see this, but this is a long story, and I think its best that you two leave."

Satoshi looked at Kenji, filled with confusion and fear.

"No one is going any where, the only place you're going Suzumi-nigousan, is to the palace where your father waits." The man hissed. He motioned for the other to move closer towards the two young men. "Take the two young men and I'll take Suzumi." He commanded, the man with auburn-brown hair nodded, leaping towards Satoshi and Kenji.

"NO! Don't hurt them! They aren't involved in this!" Suzumi screamed. Her eyes flicked a light blue color again, trying to summon her powers to stop the young attacking the others.

It was too late, the man with auburn-brown hair grabbed Satoshi by the neck, putting him in a headlock, Kenji screamed, running towards the man and Satoshi. "You bastard! Let him go!" The man held out his hand and a sudden wave came over Kenji, knocking him backwards into his bookcase. He slammed into the bookcase with a loud _**crash!**_ and he was out instantly from the books falling on top of him.

Satoshi tried to break himself free from the grip he was in from the man, but the more he fought, the tighter grip was around his neck. He could see everything around him fading into darkness, all he could hear was the redhead screaming.

"STOP THIS PLEASE! LET THEM GO!" Suzumi screamed.

The man with brown hair gave a low chuckle, "You have no choice my dear, either you come quiet or we will kill your friends."

Suzumi growled, narrowing her light blue eyes at him. 'I can't summon my powers here or else they'll die...'

"As much as I wish not to go, then I will do this for the safety of my incarnator's friends…" Suzumi sighed, looking at both Satoshi and Kenji. "Once when we get to the palace, I _demand_ that these two remain safe in exchange for my return. Understood?"

The man with brown hair nodded, "Absolutely, Suzumi-nigousan." He walked towards the door and bowed low to her. "Without further ado, we must return. Your father would be delighted to see you have returned."

"Tsk. Delighted that I have returned to do _his_ dirty work. How pathetic." She snapped, moving towards the doorway. She stopped and waited for the two men to gather Kenji and Satoshi. She had hoped they weren't going to use them in any harmful way.

They exited the building and teleported to the palace in Kyoto, once when they approached the gates; Suzumi narrowed her eyes at the palace. She noticed that it had not changed much, but it was clean due to her people returning home. 'I am not looking forward to this.' She thought bitterly. 'What are your plans _now_ father?'


	4. Three: The Homecoming and The Love

**Of Angels and Vampires**

**Chapter Three**

The Homecoming

And

The Love

By Fallon

Suzumi and the two men passed the gates and entered the palace grounds. She watched the other two young men; Satoshi and Kenji, being dragged off after the man with auburn-brown hair turned them over to a group of karyuudo.

The man with brown hair followed her into the palace where she began to notice the palace was still the same. Nothing had changed except it looked like it was abandoned. 'How could father leave our home to the humans?' She thought, staring at the mess that was still being cleared up by servants and others.

She looked around at the people that were moving swiftly; they would stop and suddenly recognize who she was. "_Suzumi-san_!" One woman shouted, dropping the pile of debris she had in her arms and quickly fell to the floor in a bowing position. "Welcome home, _Suzumi-san_!" She yelled, her head stuck to the ground. Suzumi stared down at the woman, others that were near by stopped and gazed at her in awe and they, too, fell to the ground bowing.

"Has she returned to us at last?"

"She has come to save us!"

Suzumi seen the people gather around her, coming close to her and reaching out to touch her, grabbing the garments of her clothes. "Thank you, yes, I have returned, but…" Suzumi felt the many hands around her touch her arms, hands and shoulders. She looked at the many faces of her people and she sighed. They bowed to her, saying thank you and welcoming her home. She began to feel a sense of guilt dip in.

She moved along the crowd and seen the man waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Enough! Let her through!" He barked, motioning for the crowd to move. Suzumi looked back at them, not saying anything. She was shocked at how happy they were for her return. She followed the man up another flight of stairs and she could still hear them talking about her as she went up.

Once when Suzumi caught up with the man, they hung a left around the corner from the stairs entering a long hallway. They approached two doubled-doors with slanted handles; the man pulled the door open and let Suzumi go in first.

Suzumi sighed; she wasn't looking forward to seeing her father. They walked down a short hallway before reaching a door that was slid half-way open. The man stopped her and entered as she waited outside.

"My lord," the man spoke as Yukinari was leaning on the balcony. He turned his head and quickly moved away from the railing, "Do you have her, Sakaki?" Yukinari asked anxiously.

Sakaki nodded, "Yes sir, she is here."

"Bring her in!"

Sakaki stepped out and opened the door wider for Suzumi to enter. She entered the room as she had a look of anger on her face, seeing her father there. Yukinari rushed to her, his arms spread out to embrace her.

"Suzumi!" He cried, wrapping his arms around her. Suzumi stood motionless, not returning her affection.

Yukinari looked at Sakaki, "Thank you Sakaki, you may leave us."

Sakaki bowed, "Yes sir." He left and slid the door shut.

"Father…" Suzumi spoke, Yukinari pulled away from her, his brow furrowing. "I would strike you across the face, Suzumi, but I'm glad to see that you're still alive!"

Suzumi glared, her eyes glowing light blue, "I never wanted to return here and I never wanted to see you!" She shouted, moving away from him.

"I have been searching for you for _centuries_, Suzumi! I never gave up hope of finding you!"

"You never gave up hope of finding me so you can use me! You'd hope of using own daughter!"

Yukinari went silent for a moment, he moved over to his bed to sit down. "I am not using you, Suzumi," he said with a hint of sadness in his voice. Suzumi crossed her arms, "Bullshit, father," she spat. "Your only intention of finding me was to use me so we could save our race…are you going to throw me away after I'm finished with my duty?"

Yukinari shook his head, rising from the bed, "No, Suzumi, I would never hurt you."

"Then what are your intentions? What are you planning to do with me?"

Yukinari moved closer to his daughter, looking into her blue eyes and placing his hands on her shoulders. "My intentions of having you come back are not only to save our race, but I will turn my throne over to you." He spoke as a smile formed on his lips.

She gasped, "Father, are you sure you want to do that?" She couldn't imagine having to lead her people shortly after her return.

He nodded his head slightly, "Yes, since I have no son to bear the throne, then my daughter will become the first empress of the Japanese Vampires."

"Then, that would mean I would have to fight against the Angels—to protect our people."

"I have protected our people for centuries, Suzumi. I assume you will have no trouble of carrying out the same duties."

Suzumi moved away from her father, turning her body towards the balcony, starring at the distance of the city. "I cannot refuse what destiny has in store for me, can I?"

"I'm afraid not, though you must embrace your duties as _nigousan_ and soon-to-be empress."

'There's no way out of this,' Suzumi thought bitterly, 'How can he do this?' She clenched her fists, biting down on her tongue. She inhaled, closing her eyes, "As much as I don't want to accept this new role, I will take the lead as _nigousan_ and empress." Yukinari's lips formed a smirk, "You will be a great leader, my daughter, and I will be there to guide your every step."

She turned towards him, "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"Is it possible for us to join forces with the Angels? Can we set a peace treaty?"

* * *

Satoshi and Kenji sat on the cold stone floor of the dungeon, sitting beside each other and bounded by chains.

Kenji sighed, looking at Satoshi, "What the hell just happened?"

Satoshi had his gaze locked to the floor, "What do you think just happened? Kasumi changed and we were kidnapped by monsters."

"I hope they won't eat us."

"That's what they're probably planning to do right now."

Kenji jumped up, fumbling with his chains, "To hell with this, I'm not dying here!"

Satoshi remained rooted to his spot, "What's the use? We're probably going to die either way—escape or not."

Kenji threw down his chains, "How can you say that? Don't you want to get out of here?"

"We don't know what happened to Kasumi and there's something definitely going on. I always knew she was a different kind of girl."

"You can sit here and mope all you want, but I want to live! I got a career to look forward to and there's no way I'm missing out on it!"

_**Thunk, thunk**_

"Hey, you two shut up! I don't want to hear a peep outta either of you!" A karyuudo barked, his eyes piercing at Kenji through the barred window door.

Kenji sank back down to the floor in a sitting position, cursing under his breath.

"If you wanna get out of here, I have a plan." Satoshi whispered.

"Alright, tell me your plan then."

"We need to come up with a distraction, say, I'm hurt and you need someone to help me. If one of those guards come over, and let's hope there's one, you can distract him while I take part of my chain and choke him. I'm going to need your help of holding him down, got it?"

Kenji nodded, "Good idea, glad you figured that out fast."

Satoshi stood up, looking around the dungeon. He began to think that he would stand behind the door, once when Kenji caught the guard's attention; he would quickly wrap the chain around the guard's neck. With the help from Kenji, they would undo their chains and look for Kasumi to find out what's going on. 'I hope she's okay.'

"Okay, you ready Kenji?" Satoshi stood against the wall so he would be behind the door.

"Ready when you are!" Kenji whispered.

"Let's do this and get the hell out of here!"

Kenji walked towards the door, grabbing the barred window, "Hey! I need your help! Come quick! Something happened to my friend!"

The karyuudo sighed, "What the hell is going on?" He opened the door, peering in. "Hey, where is your—"

Satoshi quickly wrapped the chain around the vampire's neck, while the vampire pushed him against the wall. "Help me Kenji!" He yelled. Kenji threw a punch at the vampire's jaw. Satoshi scrambled to get the chain around his neck again and Kenji grabbed Satoshi and helped him hold the vampire down.

The karyuudo gasped for air, "You little fuckers—you're gonna die!" He managed to breathe those last words, before going limp.

Satoshi quickly grabbed the keys from the vampire and undid Kenji's chains and then his own. He looked down at the dead vampire, finally realizing what he was. "So, we're in a kingdom full of Vampires, great!"

"Does that mean Kasumi is one, too?"

"I don't know, but we're going to find out. Let's get out of here!"

Hanako placed her staff in front of her, looking at the red orb. 'I can't let them down,' she thought, thinking of the council and her army. She heard soft footsteps and a flutter of wings and she turned around and seen Leiko approaching her. "My lady, when shall we depart for Gaia?" She asked, bowing her head. Her light blue hair shined in the sunlight.

Hanako's eyes narrowed, "We will leave tomorrow at sunset, when the ceremony begins for Suzumi's return."

"Do you think they will try to revive her body since she is reincarnated in the girl?"

"They have preserved her bones, then yes."

Leiko placed a hand on Hanako's shoulder, "My lady, whatever may happen during our battle, I will do my best to protect you."

"Thank you, Leiko, I appreciate our friendship. Although this is a fight between myself and the Vampire Lord—this I must do alone."

"I am afraid of your safety, my lady,"

"Don't worry about me; I have the Gods on my side. You cannot always protect me, Leiko. I, as your general, must give orders and protect my army."

Hanako held her staff in front of her and formed it into a sword.

"I may not have the authority to do this, but I will appoint you as General if I die in battle."

Leiko was taken aback. "My lady, are you sure?"

"Absolutely, now let us prepare for tomorrow."

* * *

The sun slowly rose over the horizon, the light dipping in the windows and into Suzumi's chambers. She sat at the end of her bed, watching the orange-red sun rise. It was blinding, but beautiful. She began to think back on why she had left in the first place, for various reasons, but a certain person came to her mind, one of which she had began to love deeply before she died.

Suzumi remembered getting angry with her father, when he was going to appoint her as nigousan.

"_No! I won't do it!" She shouted, throwing her make-up box at the mirror._

"_My time has come to an end, Suzumi, now you must take my place!" Yukinari yelled back._

"_You only want me to take your place because of her!" She spat and her eyes began to glow a light azure. She spoke of a woman that her father aimlessly married after her mother's death. She hated her step mother with a fiery passion: Aya._

"_No, it is not because of Aya, Suzumi, it is because the time has come to lead your people and accept your responsibility!"_

"_What if I am not ready for it, father?"_

"_You are!" Yukinari grabbed her shoulders. "You are ready to accept your role as mistress and empress!"_

_A woman with glowing red eyes and flowing blonde hair stood outside Suzumi's chambers. She formed a smirk on her mouth, laughing quietly._

"_Father—"_

"_Enough, Suzumi, you will accept your role and that is final. We will begin your ceremony tonight,"_

_He quickly turned and stormed out of her room in rage, slamming her door shut._

_Suzumi pierced her narrowing eyes at the broken mirror, how could she possibly take this chance now of leading her people at being seventeen? She was already in an arranged marriage thanks to her wonderful step mother. Aya had chosen Shigeru as her suitable husband and emperor, Yukinari had blindly agreed. She didn't love him, she loved someone else._

_Suddenly she felt a hand touch her own, she gasped in surprised and turned to see it was who she was waiting for. "Takeshi," she whispered._

_He smiled at her, "My love, I was waiting for your father to leave so I may see you." He put his hand on her left cheek, brushing his lips against hers. "Father wants to begin my ceremony tonight to crown me as empress. He does not know that he's doing all of this for that evil woman."_

_Takeshi nodded, "She brings nothing to this kingdom and she's controlling your father."_

"Exactly, she wants to control him so she may control our nation and I knew she was evil to begin with."

"_Your ceremony is going to be tonight is that what I heard?" Takeshi said._

"_Yes," Suzumi replied, sighing. "But I don't think I will be there tonight."_

"_Where are you going?"_

"_I'm going to kill myself."_

* * *

Suzumi had escaped from the palace, jumping off of a cliff and drowning in the ocean. She did it to get back at her father and his foolish decision of making her empress so quickly. She didn't want to leave her love Takeshi, but she needed to get away from the evil woman and her father.

Centuries had passed and she went from one reincarnation to the next until she finally found the right woman to reawaken herself: Kasumi. She was a college student and falling in love with her friend Satoshi. Now Suzumi had returned home and was ready to accept her duties. She needed to convince her father that forming a peace treaty with the Angels would be good for the people. The Vampires were only a threat to the Angels because they were a threat to the human race.

Suzumi did not crave for blood, though the only thing she craved for was Takeshi. She could feel his presence close by and she felt his hand touch hers once again.

"Glad to see you made it back, my love." He said smiling.

She smiled back, "Of course, one always finds their way back home to where they belong."

"I missed you." Takeshi whispered, pulling Suzumi close to his body.

She blushed and the scent of his skin swept over her. "I missed you too." She replied, looking at his face while brushing her lips against his.

His strong hands explored her body and he knew this wasn't her actual body. There was countless times he had wanted to take her and make her his. Takeshi knew he couldn't do that just yet.

"I've wanted to tell you something," He said as he grabbed both of her hands. "I have known this for a long time and I have waited for you to return." Suzumi stood rooted to her spot, seemingly holding her breath. "I love you, Suzumi."

"I have always loved you too, Takeshi."

Takeshi kissed her lips once more, squeezing her shoulders.

"I want to tell father that I want to marry you—arranged or not."

"When?"

"Tonight at the ceremony."

"When they resurrect your body from your reincarnation?"

"Yes, then I can be all yours, my love."

Takeshi grabbed Suzumi and threw her on the bed. She laughed as she lied down on her back. She needed this, she longed for this—just as much as he did. They loved one another, no matter who was watching or judging them. Takeshi was a vampire like Suzumi, only he came from another town centuries ago.

Takeshi buried his face in her neck, planting kisses all over and brushing his fangs on her skin. He could smell her sweet royal blood, how he wished he could have a taste.

"Takeshi," Suzumi whispered, he quickly looked up at her. "Make me your mate, make me yours."

"But before the ceremony—"

"Just do it."

She grabbed his face and kissed him hard on the mouth. She moaned under her breath, feeling his strong body harden with passion. Takeshi tore open her kimono, her chest heaving as her breasts fell out. He nuzzled his face on her chest, kissing her and licking her nipples. "Suzumi," he groaned, pulling down his pants.

"I want you, Takeshi, I want you." She whispered in his ear. Her hands trailed down his chest, feeling his abs. They kissed and Takeshi grabbed Suzumi, turning her on her stomach.

She felt his manhood on her rear and she turned sideways to kiss his mouth. Takeshi positioned himself and entered Suzumi. She gasped as she felt the pressure settle in and she tried to ignore the pain. She could feel him pull in and out of her, panting and groaning quietly so no one could hear them. "I love you so much," he whispered, pushing harder into her. "Oh," She let out, "T-takeshi," she said, grabbing his shoulders trying to maneuver him to lie on his back. He did so as Suzumi got on top.

Satoshi crept quietly across the hall, Kenji following right behind him.

"This is just a bad dream," Kenji whispered. "What if Kasumi's already dead?"

"No, she couldn't be, if anything they'd turn her into a vampire." Satoshi replied.

They walked by a closed door and heard a woman moaning.

"Did you hear that?" Satoshi asked, stopping.

"Hear what?"

"I thought that sounded like Kasumi."

Satoshi cracked the door open and seen a red head bobbing up and down on a figure lying on the bed. He watched carefully as he seen the girl throws her head back and her long red hair glistened in the morning sunlight.

"What is it?" Kenji asked.

"Um, it's Kasumi having sex with a vampire?"

"What? Let me see!"

Kenji's mouth hung open as he watched the redhead move up and down, "I always knew Kasumi had big boobs," he said as his eyes widen.

"You're such a pervert, Kenji."

"What? I can dream can't I?"

Suddenly everything went quiet and both men heard a scream, "GET OUT!" with a pillow being thrown at them.

"Oh shit," Satoshi said, grabbing Kenji by the arm and running away.

* * *

Hanako stood in front of the council, calm. She wasn't afraid of the council and their remarks; she respected their wishes and did as she was ordered.

A man with blue hair stood up, "General, by order of the Council, we grant your departure for Gaia. We order you to put a stop to the ceremony of the Vampire Lord's daughter."

Hanako nodded, "Yes, I will carry out the Council's order with my staff and army."

"We have faith that you will successfully carry out this mission, General." Mayura said, also standing up.

The rest of the Council rose from their seats and spoke in unison, "We, the Council of Terra, order you to kill the Vampire Lord."

Hanako was shocked, she knew it was her duty to kill him, but could she really do it?

She bowed, "Yes, as you wish."


	5. Four: The Ceremony and The Choice

Of Angels and Vampires

**Chapter Four**

The Ceremony  
And  
The Choice

By Fallon

Nightfall came and Yukinari had his bandage removed. Shurii helped him and Yukinari looked in the mirror at the right side of his face.

"It's horrible isn't it?" He asked, turning his face towards the right.

"It could be worse, sir."

"You're right."

"Just be thankful she didn't kill you sir, like I have said before." Shurii said.

"You've always been a good friend to me, Shurii, never giving up on me."

"How could I ever lose my faith in you, my Lord? You are my leader and companion."

Yukinari stood up, moving away from the mirror and clapped his hands. Two women appeared and had his evening attire ready for the ceremony. They pulled his daily attire off and put on a blue kimono, one of the women handed him his sword and he placed it at his hip. Yukinari looked at himself in the mirror once more, admiring the design of a golden dragon on his blue kimono.

"Tell me your thoughts on tonight, my lord?" Shurii asked.

Yukinari sighed, "I heard we have two prisoners captured with Suzumi, I think we'll use them as a sacrifice to restore Suzumi's blood."

Yukinari had seen the two young boys captured, they seemed frighten.

"Please don't eat us!" Kenji pleaded.

"Nonsense, we don't want your blood just yet." Yukinari replied.

"What are you going to do with us?" Satoshi asked.

"Use you for tonight of resurrecting my daughter, of course."

Both young men felt frightened.

Shurii nodded, "Excellent idea, my lord."

"Yes, we have no other humans, so why not use these boys?" Yukinari chuckled. "Come, let us go see if our Empress is ready."

Suzumi sighed, she was glad those boys caught her and Takeshi together and not her father. 'Father would freak out.' She thought and she wasn't sure if he still wanted her to marry Shigeru. Suzumi thought about telling her father she wanted to marry Takeshi instead.

Her door slid open and Yukinari entered along with Shurii.

"Good evening, Lady Suzumi." Shurii bowed.

"Good evening, Sir Shurii." She replied, also bowing. "Father, there is something I need to discuss with you in private."

"Of course," Yukinari gave Shurii a nod, signaling for him to leave.

Shurii turned and left without saying a word, sliding the door shut.

"About the ceremony, father," Suzumi began, "I want to have your blessing of marrying Takeshi."

Yukinari thought for a moment, her marrying Takeshi? "What about Shigeru? I thought I had an arranged marriage centuries ago for you two to marry?"

"I don't love Shigeru, father. I love Takeshi."

"Have you made love?"

Suzumi blushed, "Yes," she whispered.

Yukinari was shocked; after all it had been centuries he had seen his daughter.

"I would disapprove," he replied, "But I won't."

Suzumi was slient.

"Since he has already—deflowered you, what is the use of an arranged marriage?"

Suzumi smiled, "You mean it?"

"Yes, your step mother is not here to protest, so why the hell not?"

Suzumi embraced her father, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me just yet, where is the bastard anyway?"

"Right here, sir." Takeshi appeared out of the shadows near the window.

"So, you deflowered my daughter, I am not too happy, but once you touch something you can never give it back." Yukinari chuckled. "I will take good care of her, my lord." Takeshi put his arm around Suzumi's shoulders.

"Well, I hope so." Yukinari sneered.

"Of course, father, Takeshi is a good man."

"Too bad you couldn't join the karyuudo; they could use someone like you."

"I might consider it, my lord." Takeshi said, bowing. "I thank you for your blessing of having the opportunity of marrying your daughter."

"Of course, Takeshi, now let's us prepare for your ceremony, Suzumi."

People gathered in their seats outside the palace. Kenji and Satoshi were led out by guards to the front of the crowd. They could hear their hisses and whispered words of hate.

"I don't like this, Satoshi, what do we do?" Kenji said franticly.

"There's nothing we can do, Kenji, it was nice knowing you."

"What? That's all you can say?"

Kenji stopped as he heard the beating of drums suddenly sound off, signaling for the entrance of the Vampire Lord Yukinari.

The crowd arose, bowing. Yukinari made his way towards his throne, turning and holding out his fist to stop the drumming.

"Tonight," he began, "We welcome our daughter and sister Lady Suzumi. She has returned to us and I have good news to share with everyone, please come out Suzumi."

The crowd gasped and quickly bowed again at the sight of Suzumi. People had their heads bowed quietly thanking for her return.

Suzumi had on a red kimono with pink cherry blossoms scattered all over, she had her long red hair pulled back with two black and red beaded hair sticks.

She had her eyes cast towards her father, who looked on with pride. She looked towards her left and seen the two young men, Kenji and Satoshi, chained. 'They're going to sacrifice them?' Kasumi asked. 'Yes, it's the only way I will get back to my own body.' Suzumi answered.

She sat by her father and Yukinari rose again, "I announce the news of the marriage of my daughter to Takeshi."

The crowd buzzed with whispers and small talk.

"Now we will begin the ceremony for Suzumi's return." Yukinari said, "Bring out Suzumi's bones."

Two guards brought out a pile of bones, the skeletal form of Suzumi, they placed it in front of Yukinari and Suzumi.

Suzumi stepped down, looking at the two young men. "Bring forth the prisoners!" Yukinari commanded.

"Wait!" Suzumi said, "I have an idea."

"What?" Yukinari said, confused.

"Don't use these boys, father. Use my incarnation, Kasumi."

Hanako and her army stepped onto the palace grounds.

"I need a group of eight to the west side of the palace and I need a group of ten to the east side of the palace. When you see the red orb light up, that's the signal for you to attack."

The women nodded.

Hanako flew up past the gate of the palace and landed on the ground. She was sent here on a mission: to stop the ceremony and kill Yukinari. She had no other choice; she had to do it. Gaia was counting on her.

"Use your incarnation? But how?" Yukinari asked.

"Use her blood to resurrect me." Suzumi answered.

"But that means Kasumi will die!" Satoshi yelled.

"I don't want to use you two boys, so either she dies or you all die!"

Suzumi lied down on the ground, holding a dagger in her hand.

'I don't want to die, Suzumi.' Kasumi said, 'It's all right, I have a plan.' Suzumi replied.

Suzumi slit her right wrist and poured the blood on the left wrist of her skeletal form.

"What was once was, shall now live again…AWAKEN SUZUMI-NIGOUSAN!" Yukinari yelled, waving his hands outward. Wind suddenly blew across the crowd and Suzumi's eyes turned a light blue. Two spirits emerged from the single being that is Kasumi; Suzumi's spirit lied on top of the skeletal form and submerged, veins and skin began to form. Her red hair grew as the anatomy began to form on her body. She lied naked on the ground and two women came rushing to her side with a black cloak to cover her up.

Suzumi stood up, looking around and the crowd was in awe, bowing and sang in unison, "HAIL SUZUMI-NIGOUSAN!"

Hanako gasped, 'I'm too late, but I'm still not finished!'

Suzumi looked down at Kasumi, grabbing her hand. She was listless and cold; she brought her own right wrist up and bit into it. She placed her open wound over Kasumi's mouth and the blood dripped into her mouth. She waited, hoping her plan would work.

Kasumi gasped, squeezing Suzumi's hand.

Suzumi smiled, "It worked," she said.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Kasumi asked frantically.

"Kasumi!" Satoshi yelled.

"Release the prisoners!" Suzumi ordered as two guards unbounded both Kenji and Satoshi.

Kasumi embraced Satoshi.

"So glad to see you are all one big happy family, Yukinari." Hanako said.

"General…" Yukinari sneered, "What a pleasant surprise to see you here!"

"I would welcome your daughter home, but I don't have time for that. I'm here for one purpose and that is to kill you!"

Yukinari grinned, "Why kill me when you can have fun with me, General?"

"You are a threat to the human race along with your hellspawn!" Hanako yelled.

The crowd buzzed with hisses and curses at Hanako.

"Wait General Hanako!" Suzumi shouted, "I have something to share with you—"

"Share nothing with me evil witch!" Hanako barked. "Yukinari, _this_ _ends tonight_!"

Hanako grabbed the red orb off of her staff, throwing it up into the air. Angels swarmed the palace walls and the crowd scattered to fight.

Hanako jumped and flew towards Yukinari, her staff forming into a sword and clashing it with his sword.

"Back for round two, I see?" Yukinari chuckled. "This time, I intend to win and I intend on fucking you!"

"You make me sick!" Hanako swung her sword at him again and he grabbed her by the throat.

"You can't resist me, General. I am very fond of you and just looking at your beautiful face is really turning me on! Why don't we forget about this and go make love? Make love not war! HAHAHAHA!"

"Enough Vampire!"

Suzumi turned her attention towards Kasumi.

"Get out of here Kasumi, it's not safe!" She said, waving her arm.

"This is what you were telling me about, the war of Angels and Vampires!"

"Yes, get your friends and go! I will have my assistant guide you to the next city!"

A woman with blond hair came rushing to Kasumi, grabbing her by the wrist and Kasumi grabbed Satoshi and Kenji ran with the group to exit the palace grounds.

Yukinari swung his sword sideways, aiming for Hanako's neck. She put her sword in front of her to block the blow, her wings shuttered at the impact and feathers scattered.

"You truly are beautiful, my dear, why must we be enemies?"

"I won't answer to that because you already know the answer."

Hanako twirled around Yukinari, swinging her sword at him.

Suzumi seen Takeshi, "Takeshi," She said embracing him. "I have to put a stop to this!"

"How?" he asked.

"I have to tell my father and the General about the peace treaty!"

Leiko grabbed an arrow behind her back, pulling the bow string back and aimed it at a female vampire.

In the corner of her eye she seen a figure with gray hair approach her at rapid speed, she blocked his sword with her bow.

"Foolish Vampire," she spat, "You will meet your death!"

Shurii glared, "Don't be so sure, Angel, for it may be you joining your former General Ria!"

"Don't talk about General Ria!" She shouted, pulling an arrow out and ready to aim.

Hanako fell to the ground, quickly rolling to the right to dodge Yukinari's sword. She jumped to her feet and positioned herself to her fighting stance.

Yukinari chuckled, "Let's make a deal, General,"

"What?"

"If I win, I keep you. If you win, you can kill me."

"Deal, I intend not to lose! YEE-AH!"

She jabbed her sword at him, but Yukinari easily blocked it. He quickly knocked her off of her feet and she fell down again. She lied on her back, trying to reach for her sword. Yukinari had his sharp edge pointed at her neck.

"Looks like I'm going to win this one, then you'll be mine." He said, curving a smile.

"FATHER STOP!" Suzumi yelled.

Yukinari looked up and seen Suzumi standing a few feet away from him.

Hanako quickly grabbed her sword and jabbed it at Yukinari's chest.

"Ugh!" Yukinari cried out, dropping to his knees.

"NOOO!" Suzumi screamed, tears streaming down her face. "FATHER!"

She rushed to his side, catching him in her arms.

"Father hang on!"

Hanako's sword formed into a staff and she heard thunder boom in the distance. She did it. She wounded the Vampire Lord, but maybe not enough to kill him.

"You fool!" Suzumi spat, "I was planning on forming a peace treaty with you!"

"A peace treaty? You know that is entirely impossible, child!" Hanako barked.

"It can be done, if we join alliances—"

"You are a threat to the human race!"

Yukinari coughed up blood, "Why protect those humans when they're easy to kill?"

"It is our duty on Gaia to protect the human race from evil and beings of Darkness." Hanako said.

"We, as beings of Darkness, can join forces with the beings of Light." Suzumi said, looking at her father and then at Hanako.

"Why? How can we join forces when you kill humans?" Hanako asked, glaring.

"As empress, I plan on changing that no more humans be sacrificed or killed." Suzumi replied.

Hanako laughed, "You amaze me, Lady Suzumi! Suddenly there's a Vampire with a change of heart. Too bad your dear old father didn't think of that one."

The rain began to fall on the crowd of Vampires and Angels. Yukinari was bleeding and there was a pool of blood forming around him and Suzumi. Yukinari was beginning to lose consciousness, he groaned and Suzumi immediately laid her eyes on him. "Father!" she said.

Shurii came rushing to Suzumi's side, "My lord," he said.

"Shurii," Yukinari said, "Take me to the castle."

Hanako was going to turn and leave until she heard the Vampire lord speak.

"Guards, take the Angels as prisoners!" He yelled.

Suzumi was shocked, what was her father doing? "Father, what are you doing? You can't lock them up!"

"Yes I can and I will. Hanako is my prisoner!"

Shurii entered the palace with Yukinari's arm around his neck. He led him up the stairs to his chambers and settled him on the bed.

"Will you be alright sir? Shall I bring aide?" Shurii asked.

"Yes, please." Yukinari replied.

Shurii summoned health care providers to close up Yukinari's wound and they gave him rest. He was worried that his leader would die, but he had also questioned himself of why his lord wanted to take the Angels as prisoners. The Angel with the bow and light-blue hair glared at him as she was being taken away.

"Sir, might I ask why you took the Angels as prisoners?" He asked.

"I want to make Hanako mine." Yukinari answered.

"But why the whole army, sir?"

"We're going to kill them."

"What about the others? Gaia will surely come after us."

"Let them come."

Hanako was put in a dungeon by herself and the others were thrown together in groups.

She looked out the barred window, watching the falling rain.

She wasn't sure what Yukinari had in store for her: rape or death. She would rather die than have him touch her.


	6. Five: The Reason and The Return

**Of Angels and Vampires**

**Chapter Five**

The Reason  
And  
The Return

By Fallon

Kasumi and the two young men followed Suzumi's assistant through the woods as the rain dripped large droplets on the group from the trees above.

"What is your name?" Kasumi asked the young girl.

"My name is Asashi, ma'am. I have been Lady Suzumi's assistant since the time of her birth until her death.

"She died?" Satoshi asked.

"Yes, she drowned after she found out her father wanted her to become empress and _nigousan_."

"She didn't want to accept her responsibility?" Kasumi asked.

"She did, but she didn't want to do it because of her step-mother Aya." Asashi replied.

"Who's Aya?" Kenji asked.

"Aya married Lord Yukinari shortly after his previous wife died. At the time, we called it an

unknown sickness, but now we know that his first wife was poisoned."

"How was she poisoned?" Kasumi asked.

"Lady Suzumi suspected it was Aya, but Lord Yukinari didn't think it was her," Asashi said.

"What happened to Aya?"

"Aya left Lord Yukinari after Lady Suzumi died. She was hungry for power, and Lord Yukinari would not give it to her."

_Aya flipped her blonde hair out of her face, sighing. "My love, do not be so discouraged, I'm sure they'll find Suzumi," she said sweetly as she snaked her arms around Yukinari's chest._

"_If they don't find her, I must continue to lead my people, Aya," Yukinari said, gazing out the window._

"_While they search for her, why don't we make another heir to the throne?" Aya asked, planting kisses on Yukinari's neck._

_Yukinari shifted his attention to his wife. He felt shivers go down his spine as she kissed his neck. _

_He grabbed her and led her to the bed, throwing her down and staring at her intently. He lowered himself to kiss her as their bodies pressed together. He loved her, but not like he had loved his first wife, Satomi. Aya groaned, feeling his body with her hands._

_Yukinari kissed her once more, pulling her obi of her kimono open. Aya kissed Yuknari on the lips, touching his face. She grabbed his hand and interlaced her fingers with his over her head._  
_Suddenly, the door slid open and Shurii quickly covered his eyes. "My lord, I bring news!" he said quickly._

_Yukinari sighed. "Can't you see I'm busy, Shurii?"_

"_It's about Lady Suzumi, sir."_

_Yukinari stood up, as did Aya, covering herself with her kimono._

"_Is she all right? Is she safe?" Yukinari asked, his ruby red eyes lighting with hope._

"_I am sorry, my lord, she's dead."_

"_NO! She's not dead!"_

_Aya was shocked; Yukinari flipped over a table, sending everything falling on the floor and shattering._

"_No, no, no!" Yukinari screamed, sitting on the bed with his head in his hands._

"_My love, I'm so sorry—" Aya touched his shoulder, but Yukinari quickly smacked her hand away._

"_This is YOUR fault! She's dead because of you!" he shouted._

"_My fault? You were the last to talk to her!" Aya shouted back._

"_My lord and lady, this is not necessary! Right now we must plan the funeral," Shurii cut in._

_Yukinari nodded. "You're right, Shurii."_

"_Although we must keep in mind that we can bring Suzumi back if we can find her incarnation. This may take centuries," Shurii said._  
_A few days passed, until finally the day came to lay Suzumi's body to rest. Her listless body was displayed in the open where everyone could view her body and say their goodbyes. Yukinari was grief-stricken, while Aya seemed emotionally detached. _  
_Takeshi stood outside the palace, looking up at the sky. "I hope you come back, Suzumi, your people need you. I need you."_

"So what happened to Aya?" Kasumi asked.  
"She left Yukinari after Suzumi's funeral. This sent him into a deeper depression," Asashi replied.

_Yukinari locked himself in his room, not coming out for weeks. Shurii tried to get him to come out, but he wouldn't. Finally, Shurii brought him blood to drink. He was pleased to see Yukinari took to it quickly. After he had not fed for a few months, Yukinari had begun to look gaunt._  
_"My dear friend Shurii, thank you for your generosity," he said._  
_"Of course, my lord." Shurii bowed. "I am forever loyal to you as your companion and faithful servant."_

"_Do you think Suzumi will return?" Yukinari asked._  
_"I pray she will, my lord. Please don't lose hope."_

Asashi led the three young people to the city and stopped. "This is as far as I go with you," she said, bowing.

"Can't we go back with you?" Kasumi asked.

Asashi shook her head. "I'm afraid not. No humans are to know of the war between Angels and Vampires."

"Kasumi isn't human anymore. What can she do?" Satoshi asked.

"I will return for her, though this may be the last time you see her." Asashi replied.

"What's going to happen to her?" Kenji asked.

"Kasumi was an incarnation. She will become her own person as she was, and that will be decided by Lady Suzumi herself. Now, please go back home and I will be back for Lady Kasumi."

"The hell you're not! If she goes, I go!" Satoshi yelled.

"Stop, Satoshi! You don't know what you're doing!" Kasumi shouted.

"I'm sorry. Since Lady Suzumi chose Lady Kasumi, we cannot accept anyone else." Asashi bowed and disappeared into the darkness.

Satoshi turned to Kasumi and grabbed her shoulders. "Kasumi, whatever happens, I won't let them take you!"  
"You don't know what they're going to do, so please let me go!" Kasumi said.

"No! What if you die, Kasumi? I will protect you whether you want me to or not."

Asashi quietly tapped on the door. After she heard a quick shuffling of feet, the door slid open. She bowed at the red-haired woman. "My lady, I sent Lady Kasumi and her friends to the city as you have commanded."

"Good, she'll be safe with her friends. Now we wait to see if she'll return. She won't be able to handle her new powers alone," Suzumi said.

"What is your plan with her, my lady?" Asashi asked.

"My plan is to use her as the peace maker between the Angels and Vampires; she's my key to forming a peace treaty."

"Why do you want to form a peace treaty with the Angels, even though we have been their enemy for centuries?"

"Father won't listen to me, so I must take matters into my own hands. I will send a message to the leader of the Gaian council, asking for her presence."

"Won't they know about the General and her army being kept prisoner here?" Asashi asked.

"Yes and I will command as Empress for their release," Suzumi replied. "I must go speak with my father immediately."

Yukinari lied on his back, groaning in pain as his wound was being sewn shut by Shurii. "Your internal bleeding should stop as long as your wound is closed, my lord."

"So this means I shouldn't do much moving, right?" Yukinari asked.

"I'm afraid so, my lord."

The door slid open and a guard bowed. "Lord Yukinari, Lady Suzumi is here."

"Bring her in," he commanded.

Suzumi entered. "Father, please hear me out."

"If this about the peace treaty and the Angels, I will hear none of it," Yukinari snapped.

"You can't keep them locked up! Gaia will come after us!"

"Then let them come!"

"I'm sorry to intrude, my lord, but Lady Suzumi has a point," Shurii said.

"How do you think this peace treaty will work?" Yukinari asked.

"It's simple. We form a peace treaty with the Angels, vowing to not prey on humans for sacrificial purposes nor killing them, therefore forming a peace with them."

"_How_ is it possible to form a peace? We are Beings of Darkness, and they are Beings of Light. _It cannot work_!" Yukinari yelled.

"_It can work_, Father!" Suzumi yelled back.

"Explain to me what your plan was with that girl. Why didn't you want us to use her friends?"

"I used Kasumi to give her some of my powers. I didn't want to use her friends because I had a plan to use her as my peace maker between Angels and Vampires."

"Then why did you let her go?"

"To get her away from the battle field!"

Yukinari sat up in the bed, prompting a pillow behind his back. He looked at Suzumi and sighed.

"I appoint you as Empress, and this is your plan, a peace treaty?"

"Someone had to do it, Father, and that was me," she said. "I'm tired of the fighting, I'm tired of the killing—the next thing I may know they'll kill you because you've been the threat for centuries."

"Well, then," Yukinari began, "let's hope your plan works."

Mayura stood in front of the window, looking at the Earth.

Azar approached her from behind. "My lady, we haven't heard any news from General Hanako and her army."

"I wonder if Yukinari captured them as prisoners. If he did, he'll pay." Mayura glared. "Gather the Council and Tsukasa—we are going after them ourselves."

_I will kill Yukinari if he lays a hand on Hanako,_she thought bitterly.

The council of three men and two women and Tsukasa stood in front of Mayura, bowing.

"General Hanako and her army have not returned. It is my deepest fear that Yukinari has captured them as prisoners. I feel it best we go after them and slay the Vampire Lord," Mayura said.

"Yes ma'am," they said in agreement. Tsukasa stepped forward. "My Lady Mayura," he said,

"Why do you request my attendance?"

"Because you are a loyal friend to Hanako. I want to make sure you escort her safely back home."

Tsukasa bowed. "Understood, ma'am."

"Now, let's go get them," Mayura said as she waved her hand. A purple-colored portal appeared before them, and the group walked forward.

Hanako sat in the dungeon, wondering when she was going to be freed.

Leiko sat across her cell, her arms folded towards her chest. "I'm sure the Council has noticed our absence by now, General," she said.

"There's not a doubt in my mind that they won't come, because Lady Mayura won't stand any longer with Yukinari being alive," Hanako replied.

Suddenly there was a loud crash above the dungeon. Stones and parts of rubble fell from the ceiling. A purple portal opened up, and Mayura and the Council entered Hanako's dungeon.

Odin kicked the door open with his foot, and they exited, Hanako following behind.

"How could you let this happen, General?" Odin barked.

"Enough Odin!" Mayura shouted. "This isn't her fault; the one who we should blame is Yukinari."

"Madam, I almost had him killed—"

"Enough of your excuses, General. We the Council are here to take matters into our own hands."

The rest of the council broke open the doors with their weapons, releasing the army of Angels.

"Now, let's go after Yukinari and his hellspawn," Mayura said as she led the army and the Council towards the main hall.

Suzumi left her father's chambers and walked out towards the main hall. She heard a sudden clanking of swords and yells coming from the main hall of palace.

Her eyes glowed a light blue. Suddenly, there appeared Hanako with her sword in her hand and shoving a karyuudo away.

"General Hanako," she whispered, and then a bigger group came into her view. A red-headed woman with three wings sprouted from her back, lunged at another karyuudo, and jabbed her sword at his throat.

Suzumi stood at the top of the stairs and froze, seeing the Angels of Gaia and the Council approach.

"Out of the way, Suzumi," Mayura spat, "I'm here to kill your father."

"Wait!" Suzumi shouted, as Mayura brushed past her. "I want to form a peace treaty with the Angels!"

Mayura stopped in her tracks. "What?" she said, looking shocked.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I'm tired of this fighting and I want all of our people at peace! I don't want to hurt the humans. I have seen too much of it!"

"Child, the only thing we are here for is to kill Lord Yukinari. He has done too much damage to be saved—he killed General Ria!" Mayura said.

"I know he did, but please spare his life!" Suzumi pleaded.

"He didn't even give Ria a chance!" Odin shouted.

"Stop!" Yukinari yelled while he leaned on Shurii for support.

"You!" Mayura shouted, positioning her sword in front of her.

"Enough of this, Angels! I command you to leave!" Yukinari said.

"You're injured, so you make an easier target, Yukinari," Xavira said, aiming her bow at him.

"Please stop this!" Suzumi said, standing in between Mayura and Yukinari. "Listen to me, all of you."

"No! We're here to kill Yukinari, and afterwards we can talk about a peace treaty!" Odin shouted.

"I'm not dying without a fight!" Yukinari said.

"No! No fighting, stand down!" Suzumi said, looking at her father. "As I was saying, this peace treaty can work if we work together to form peace between the Beings of Light and Darkness—of Angels and Vampires."

Everyone was quiet as Suzumi continued, "We can form an alliance and an allegiance against those who oppose us. Doing so would make us unstoppable!"

"Unstoppable against what?" Odin asked.

Suddenly there was a loud crash and the palace entrance came crashing down. A blond woman stood on top of the rubble and gave an evil smile.

"Against me and my army!" she shouted.

"Aya!" Yukinari said as he pulled away from Shurii's side.


	7. Six: The Attack and The Peace Maker

**Of Angels and Vampires**

**Chapter Six**

The Attack  
And  
The Peace Maker

By Fallon

Aya stood on top of the rubble and walked towards the group of Angels and Vampires. "I don't have to go to two different places at once when I have all of you right where I want you."

"What do you want, Aya?" Suzumi snapped.

"All I want is to be the Empress of the Japanese Vampires and kill all who stand in my way-that means all of you." She pointed at everyone in the main hall.

"You'll never rule the Japanese Vampires, Aya. I am in charge here!" Suzumi said.

"Aw, did Daddy make you Empress? How sweet," Aya laughed.

Suzumi glared at Aya, her eyes glowing a light blue, and clenched her fists. "Shut up!"

Suzumi was about to fight Aya, but Yukinari stopped her. "Wait for it," he said to her.

"So you only came back to take over?" Yukinari asked.

"To be honest, yes," Aya replied. "I'm here to kill all of you."

"By yourself? You have no chance against all of us," Suzumi said.

Aya laughed, "Well, of course not by myself, you silly fools. I brought my own army."

An army of mixed men and women appeared behind Aya, and they all growled and moaned.

"Zombies," Mayura said, putting her hand over her mouth.

"ATTACK!" Aya shouted, waving her arm in front of her. The zombies quickly brushed past her.

Mayura stood on guard. "Angels, assemble!"

Hanako and her army gathered in a circle around the Council and spread out in different directions to kill the zombies.

Yukinari withdrew his sword and stood by Shurii. "We can take them on easily, Shurii!  
"I think you need to sit this one out, sir," Shurii replied, even while Yukinari killed three zombies within a matter of minutes.

"Well, he seems to be doing okay. Hopefully his wound won't reopen," Shurii said, sighing before leaping into the fray.

Kasumi shuddered as an image came flashing through her mind. She gasped.

Satoshi and Kenji stopped. "What is it?" Satoshi asked.

"I had an image come to mind. Suzumi and the Vampires and Angels are under attack," she replied, sinking to her knees. Another image flashed across her mind-Aya's hair flipped to one side, showing her face and piercing red eyes.

"A woman is there, she must be the one leading the attack. We have to get there!"

"No, we're going home!" Satoshi said, grabbing Kasumi's wrist.

"No, we have to go back! They're in danger!"

"What can you do?" Kenji asked.

"I'm not sure, but I can do something to put a stop to all of this!" Kasumi rose to her feet and ran at top speed through the streets, pushing past people.

Satoshi and Kenji followed behind her, trying to keep up. "Kasumi, wait for us!" Satoshi shouted, not sure if Kasumi had heard him.

She ran fast, as if she were winning a fast paced marathon. Her mind raced with thoughts and images flashing in her mind. _I have to help them, even though I don't know how._ She thought. _I've never fought before—not even the supernatural._

Images of the battle flashed through her mind: Angels and Vampires were fighting zombies; Suzumi and Aya fighting.  
_  
Hang in there, Suzumi, I'm coming!_

Suzumi put her hand in front of her. Using her mental powers, objects were wrenched from the ground and thrown at Aya.

Aya easily dodged them and swung her sword. Suzumi ducked and threw a punch at Aya's face, punching her in the jaw.

Aya fell flat on her back. "You little witch-you'll pay for that!" she spat.  
"Bring it on," Suzumi said, smiling.

Hanako stood by Mayura with their swords drawn. "My lady, is there ever going to be an end to this?" she asked, slashing a head off of a female zombie.

Mayura lunged forward, jabbing her sword into the stomach of a zombie before cutting its head off. "I hope so, as long as we follow our plan to kill Yukinari."

"I apologize for failing a second time, ma'am," Hanako said.

"It's all right, we will discuss this later," Mayura said.

Shurii and Yukinari stood back to back, holding their swords in front of them. They went in a circular motion as they each slashed and chopped body parts and heads off of the zombies.

Leiko aimed her bow and arrow at a zombie as she let it fly right to the neck of a zombie. Shurii looked at Leiko. "Nice work," he said, smiling.

Leiko merely glared at him.

Yukinari's army of Karyuudo arrived and helped get the numbers of zombies down. Angels and Vampires both were trying not to get bit by the zombies. "Don't let them touch you-you'll become one of them!" Yukinari shouted.

Hanako hit a zombie with her sword, watching the head decapitate and roll.

Kasumi stopped and quickly entered the palace grounds. She didn't look behind her to see if Satoshi and Kenji had kept up with her. She had to move fast to stop this fighting.

An image flashed through her mind as two zombies approached Satoshi and Kenji. She quickly turned around. "You two, stay out here and out of sight! There are zombies in there!" she shouted.

Satoshi shook his head. "No, what if you get bit and you become one of them?"

"I'll be okay, don't worry about me!" Kasumi said, running inside the palace.

"Kasumi!" Satoshi shouted.

"Great, first Vampires—now zombies! What's next? Werewolves?" Kenji said, crouching down in a fetal position.

"We've had some luck with the supernatural, huh, Kenji?"

Aya fell on her back and rolled out of the way before Suzumi could get to her. She jumped to her feet and charged at Suzumi. She swung her sword to her left and slashed Suzumi's arm. Suzumi quickly grabbed her arm and crouched low, swinging her leg out to send Aya on the ground. Aya fell again and Suzumi put her foot on her chest. "Face it, Aya, you're going to lose!" she said.  
Aya grabbed Suzumi's foot, "I don't intend to," She said twisting her foot, sending her falling to the ground.

Kasumi entered the palace through the ruined entrance and looked around for Suzumi. She saw her fighting with the blond woman from her vision and she quickly ran to their fight.

"Suzumi!" Kasumi yelled.

"Kasumi!" Suzumi yelled back. "Hopefully you've got some fighting skills in you—I'm going to need your help!"

Aya stopped and looked at Suzumi, then at Kasumi. "What? There are two of you?"

"She's my incarnation, Aya," Suzumi replied.

"Well, that makes two I have to kill with one stroke with my sword!"

Aya quickly approached Kasumi, holding her sword in front of her.

Kasumi screamed and quickly closed her eyes. "Kasumi!" Suzumi screamed.

Suddenly Takeshi jumped in front of Kasumi and blocked Aya's attack with his large sword.

"I'll hold her off!" he said, looking at Suzumi.

Kasumi ran to Suzumi. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

Suzumi grabbed her hands. "Since I departed from you, I'm going to see if our powers fused together will work."

"Powers?" Kasumi asked.

"Yes, you have the ability to see images in your mind before they happen, and I have the ability to communicate with others' minds and lift things with my mind."

"So fused together this creates what?"

"You'll see, but don't be frightened or it won't work."

The two women joined hands together and Suzumi spoke, "We call upon the power of darkness! May the power we possess smite our enemies before us as we come together as one!"

Both women's eyes glowed a light blue and an azure light surrounded them as the ground below them crumbled beneath their feet. A dragon rose from the depths of the azure light, roaring in anger.

The Angels gathered in a circle around the Council. Mayura stood on guard. "They're calling Seiryuu," she told them.

The dragon stood by Suzumi and Kasumi, breathing heavily. "Attack the zombies, Seiryuu!" Suzumi commanded.

Seiryuu looked at the remaining zombies and charged at a small group, cutting them in half with its teeth. He slithered around and chewed a few more in half.

"NO!" Aya screamed. Her army was going down by the numbers until she had fifteen left to send. "Attack the Angels, you fools!"

They went after the group of Angels, but were stopped before they could get to them by Seiryuu. Aya watched the remaining members of her army get torn in half.

"It's over, Aya! Surrender!" Suzumi said.

"Never!" Aya shouted. "Even if I'm the last one, I will kill all of you!" She looked at Hanako. "I'll start with you first!"

Aya ran towards Hanako, holding her sword in front of her. Hanako stood ready to block the attack when suddenly Yukinari took the blow. Aya sliced right through his stitched wound, cutting him. Hanako screamed, catching the Vampire Lord in her arms. Mayura and Tsukasa both looked shocked as they watched Hanako catch Yukinari.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, surprised.

Yukinari coughed up blood. "I had to save you," he managed.

"You didn't need to save me," Hanako said.

"But if we are going to form a peace treaty, we may as well start now," Yukinari said.

Aya looked at everyone around her; she felt defeated. She backed away towards the entrance, "You fools! Did you think this was the end? It's not over yet!" She turned and ran.

Suzumi shook her head while Kasumi went out to look for Satoshi and Kenji. Suzumi petted Seiryuu's nose. "Thank you for helping us, dear friend."

"With pleasure," Seiryuu growled. A blue light appeared around him, and he descended back to where he came from.

Mayura approached Hanako and Yukinari, looking down at them. "Come, Hanako, we must return to Gaia," she said.

Hanako looked at Mayura and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Wait! Can't we talk about a peace treaty?" Suzumi asked, grabbing Mayura's shoulder. "I have someone who will be our peace maker—"

"There will be no peace treaty and there will never be peace between us," Mayura said coldly, shaking Suzumi's hand off of her shoulder. She opened up the portal and everyone walked through, except Hanako. She looked back at Yukinari, who was standing to his feet as blood gushed from his open wound and was also leaning for support on Suzumi and Shurii. Tsukasa waited on the other side for Hanako; she turned and walked away—entering Gaia.

_He saved me, even though he didn't have to,_ she thought. _Why?_

Yukinari watched Hanako go and the portal disappeared. He suddenly felt weak, falling to his knees. "Suzumi—Shurii," he said, trying to catch his breath.

"Father!" Suzumi screamed.

"My lord, please stay with us!" Shurii pleaded.

"We have to get him to a hospital right away!" Kasumi said frantically.

Everything around Yukinari began to go dark and the voices became deafening. Next thing he knew he felt like he was floating through time.

**Yukinari, you're in love with the Angel, are you not?**

The gruff, disembodied voice struck fear into his heart.

**You know what will happen to the both of you if you fall in love. It is forbidden!**

"I don't care!" he shouted. "She is everything I have always wanted! Darkness and Light shall join forces!"

**NO! You are making a grave mistake! No Being of Darkness will join forces with the Light—IT IS FORBIDDEN!**

"I am sorry to disrespect you, Master, but Hanako will be mine!"

**The only one you shall belong to is me!**

A sword ascended from the darkness and Yukinari caught it with his hands, standing ready to fight. Out of the darkness there appeared two glowing red eyes of fire before him. A figure stood before him in a red flowing cloak with his eyes piercing his soul. The figure whipped out his sword, an inferno sword glowing with fire. Yukinari ran towards the figure, holding his sword over his head while the figure easily blocked his attack.

**Foolish Vampire, you cannot defeat me! I am your master, BOW BEFORE ME!**

"NO!" Yukinari yelled, trying to throw another blow to the hooded figure.

Suddenly there appeared corpse figures around him, grabbing him and wrestling him to the ground. He tried to break free from their grasp, but failed. The hooded figure laughed menacingly. The corpse figures had Yukinari on his knees; one lifted his head to look into the fiery eyes of their Lord—the Prince of Darkness.

Yukinari screamed as he tried to break free once more, he didn't want to look at the face of his Master.

He suddenly awoke from his sleep in his bed and there sat next to him Shurii and Suzumi, asleep in chairs. Suzumi awoke and seen her father was awake.

"Father, I'm so glad you're all right."

"Where am I?" He asked, looking confused.

"You're in Kyoto at the hospital; we couldn't take matters into our own hands so we had to bring you here."

"What about my scar?"

"We told them it was from a construction accident and that there was nothing more they could do."

"The wound?"

"They stitched you right up and you've been asleep for over a week."

Yukinari looked around, getting up from the bed. "Let's get out of here."


	8. Seven: The Confession & The Imprisonment

**Of Angels and Vampires**

**Chapter Seven**

The Confession

And

The Imprisonment

By Fallon

Author's Note: The song used in this chapter is by my favorite band, HIM, song "Beautiful" because Yukinari and Hanako's love is so beautiful. _**In bold and italicized.**_

She crept through the halls with caution, firmly holding her dagger in her hands. She felt her heart pounding in her chest as she slid to one side of the hallway. She thought she heard footsteps approaching, so she stayed close to the wall and away from the light to keep her shadow or presence from being noticed.

The footsteps came closer, and her heart began to beat faster. She wasn't going to be caught now: she couldn't fail.

The footsteps stopped. Suddenly she heard a shouting from the distance. "Oi, Kusunami, come and take my post!" a voice shouted.

"Alright, I'll be there in a minute," the man replied, turning and walking back down the long hallway.

Hanako let out a sigh of relief. _I thought I was going to be caught for sure, _she thought, peering around the corner to see if the karyuudo was out of sight. She continued to move closer to Yukinari's room, hearing the faint sounds of a conversation carrying on outside. She approached two double doors with slanted handles.

She opened one side of the door quietly, looking behind her shoulder to make sure that no one would see her going in. She entered and saw a sliding door down a short hallway filled with water-marked portraits of Lord Yukinari's family members. Hanako didn't care to glance at them and kept her eyes fixed on the sliding door.

_He's beyond that door,_ she thought, switching the dagger to her other hand. Her mind wandered back to the conversation with Lady Mayura before she left.

"General, this may be your last chance with your position, and perhaps being here on Gaia," Lady Mayura said. "The council is very displeased with the way you're handling the Japanese Vampires."

Hanako nodded. "Yes, my lady. I have tried my best, though it seems that I wasn't trying hard enough."

"General Hanako, I know you can do so much better. Therefore, we are giving you one last chance to prove yourself."

"Give me another—"

Hanako was shocked as Lady Mayura revealed a sliver dagger.

"Take this, General; this is your last resort to prove yourself." Lady Mayura placed the dagger in Hanako's hand. "I know you can do this, General. I am not disappointed in you whatsoever, but you have failed twice to bring down Yukinari. This has left me no choice…I am giving this to you to prove yourself."

Hanako was awestruck. Murder Lord Yukinari? After he had saved her from the Chinese Vampires? _What am I thinking? He's my enemy! I must kill him…in order to save my position and myself…but how can I?_

She held the dagger in her hand, gazing at it. Shifting her eyes upward, she nodded at Lady Mayura. "Yes, my lady. I will not fail you this time, so help me Goddess Athena."

Hanako stood before the sliding door, her arms at her side, her hand still holding on to the dagger. A million consequences went through her mind: what if he wasn't there and he was going to attack her from behind? What if she failed? What would happen if… _If I fell in love?_

She couldn't fall in love. It wouldn't be right for her do so, nor would it be her place. She would be stripped of her position as General and banished from Gaia. She would let everyone down… what would happen to her _then_?

_It's now or never, Hanako._

Hanako placed one hand on the sliding door and slowly slid the door open. The room was large, draped with Japanese canvas painting of landscapes and cherry blossom trees. A large circular window practically had taken up an entire wall, covered by a large abstract wood carving to seal the window. The moon shone down on a figure lying on his side with the covers pulled over him.

Hanako moved quietly across the room, approaching behind the slumbering Yukinari. His breathing was heavy, and it mixed well with the thundering sound of her heart.

She took a deep breath, gripping the dagger in her hands. This was her last chance to prove herself, and there was no way she was going to ruin it. She raised the dagger, squaring towards his neck. _My last chance…_ those words echoed in her mind as she held the dagger above her head. _My last chance to redeem myself…_ her heart was pounding in her ears and tears began to cloud her eyes.

_Do it…_

**No…**

_DO IT!_

**NO!**

_DO IT NOW!_

**NO!**

The dagger quickly dropped by her side as Hanako tried her best to keep her sobbing quiet. She kept thinking that she couldn't do it. Something was holding her back from killing this creature that she hated more than anything in her entire life. He killed the closest thing she had to a mother, former General Ria.

_For all that he has done, I have to kill him…_

_I…I can't…_

She turned away from Yukinari, covering her face as the lump in her throat grew bigger and bigger until she finally let it all out. Suddenly she felt a cold hand touch her back. Quickly dropping her hands, she gasped. She turned around quickly.

"This is a pleasant surprise to see you here, General," Yukinari said, grinning. "Especially at this time of night." His voice was soothing to her ears, yet it had a hint of danger.

Hanako sprang from his side to the edge of the bed. Tear stains were noticeable on her face, especially with the moonlight shining in. She was at a loss for words, having no idea what to say.

Yukinari smiled. Sitting up, he grabbed the dagger and examined it carefully. "A silver dagger." He flipped it a couple of times, then handed it to Hanako. "I suppose you were going to use this to kill me, weren't you?"

Hanako gave a slight nod. "Yes," she whispered.

"Then why don't you? It would make it a lot easier on you and your people, but it would also stir up chaos for my people."

Hanako's mind was blank: she didn't know what to say as she was still in shock. Finally, she found the courage to speak. "I was sent here on a mission…to kill you," she replied.

Yukinari gave her an interested look, "By your _council,_ I assume. I'll bet they've been hounding on you to kill me."

Hanako nodded, wiping her eyes. "Yes," she replied.

"Why did you hesitate to kill me then, General?" Yukinari asked.

Hanako was silent, staring at the Vampire, Yukinari kept his ruby-red eyes on her, waiting. A long silence swept over them as Hanako tried to come up with an answer.

She sighed. It was better for her to be honest than lie to him. "The reason I hesitated to kill you, Yukinari..." she said slowly, moving closer to him. "I may have failed my people already, but.. I don't know of any other way to put this. I have fallen in love with you."

She waited to hear the burst of laughter or to see a shocked look coming from Yukinari, but much to her surprise, he did nothing. Yukinari was silent and it made her feel nervous. Did she say the wrong thing? Maybe she shouldn't have said it.

Yukinari's lips formed a small smile; he got out of his bed, opening his arms out to Hanako. He embraced her fully in his arms and Hanako didn't know what to do. She didn't know if she should wrap herself around him, to feel his body against hers. At first she thought it was fate that Mayura sent her here, but then she realized that it wasn't. She had made a terrible mistake, but it was her choice. Hanako had decided against killing Yukinari.

"I would have never thought you were going to speak those words, Hanako." Yukinari spoke finally, breaking the silence between them. "I thought after the moment I had saved you, it would've hinted that I had feelings for you, even though we are destined to be enemies."

"I thought you would've let me die there, but it was a shock to me that you didn't. I guess this was my change of heart for you." Hanako pulled away from him, looking directly up at him. The moonlight was shining on the right side of his face, revealing his long scar on his right eye. He looked so beautiful there, in front of her. For his age, his body still had the sleekness of muscles that did not cease. His face was smooth, and his immortality hid the winkles from his eyes, only showing the ones underneath his eyes. His hair was a mix of grey and black, though the top of his hair had more black than what his age would suggest. If he were human, he would be in his mid-fifties or possibly younger. The only thing that would give away his age was the premature grey hair.

Yukinari smiled at Hanako, a smile that he was showing her not of evil, but of happiness. He was glad that she told him she fell in love with him. He was surprised at the moment she said it. All he could do was hold her, hold her without hurting her with a strike of a sword. Her brown eyes twinkled in the moonlight, possible tears welling up in her eyes. Her auburn –brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail as the strands from her hair hung to her shoulders.

Yukinari didn't notice what Hanako was wearing when he had first awakened. Hanako wore short black pants, with a sleeveless black top that zipped up the front and a black fishnet shirt she wore underneath the top. She reminded him of a kunoichi—a female ninja. He thought she might've been taught to fight as a ninja also and that she could probably be using her confession as a distraction to really kill him…but she carried no other weapons except for the dagger.

He moved his attention away from her clothing and focused on her.

_**Just one look into your eyes,**_

_**One look and I'm crying**_

'_**Cause you're so beautiful,**_

Yukinari smiled at her again. Hanako saw the calm on his face. He placed both of his hands on her face, stroking her right cheek. "Hanako, I want you to know that when I saw you for the first time, your beauty captivated me."

Hanako smiled, her cheeks flushing with a light pink. "_Yukinari_," she whispered, grabbing his hands and holding them while he still had his on her face.

He continued, "You have every right to hate me, but the love I have for you will never die unless I do. I know how much Ria meant to you."

Hanako looked at him, a little shocked."Yes, she was like a mother to me…and…for so long I have carried this hate I have for you when you killed her...but even with this…I can't deny my feelings any more. I can't deny you."

Hanako pulled herself closer to Yukinari, burying her face in his chest. He heard a sob escape her and he held her tightly. "We may be enemies, Yukinari, and you may have taken the one I love away from me, but…how _can_ I? How can I deny you? If you had not saved me, then…" She stopped, letting the tears flow down her face. _How can I betray my people? Myself?_

Yukinari placed his hands on Hanako's shoulders, "You have already reached that point, Hanako," he said, looking at her. "You were sent here to kill me, but in turn, you have confessed your love."

What had she done? She was blinded by her love for Yukinari. Once she hadn't given a thought to striking him with her sword; now she couldn't dare to put a scratch on him.

She said nothing at first, but looked at him with awe and confusion.

"There's no turning back, Hanako. How can you leave here without proof that I am dead?"

"I…I don't know, but the thought that I have betrayed my people…"

"You have already betrayed them, my dear, and you have all along." Yukinari spoke before Hanako couldn't finish. He was right: she had betrayed her people all along. Ever since Yukinari had laid a hand on her, touched her, and saved her. She had developed those feelings, born from her surprise at his rescue, during the battle with Aya.

"You're right, Yukinari, what else can I do?" Hanako wiped her eyes, sighing.

He gave her a slight nod, taking her hands in his. "It'll be all right, Hanako."

Hanako was silent, looking at the Vampire, examining his face. She reached out to touch the scar on his right eye. She smiled at him. Yukinari returned the smile.

"I want to see your wings, Hanako," he whispered.

"My wings?"

"Yes."

Hanako nodded. She was about to close her eyes until Yukinari stopped her. "Wait," he whispered, grabbing the zipper of her black top and pulling it down. Hanako's face turned a light pink.

Yukinari removed her black top and tossed it aside. He then pulled her fishnet shirt off, revealing her bare chest. He looked at her from the waist up to her beautiful face. She still wore her black pants and shoes.

"_Now_ I want to see your wings," he spoke.

Hanako nodded, taking a few steps back towards the moonlight. She slowly closed her eyes and tilted her head back a bit as two pearly-white wings rose out of her back. Feathers escaped as she expanded them and the folded the wings behind her back.

Yukinari released a shaky breath. Getting up from the bed, he approached her, gazing at her as if he were in trance. Hanako gave him a soft smile as her wings slowly increased and decreased in size as more feathers fell from her wings. He placed his hands on her face and his lips brushed against hers.

Hanako's eyes widened as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Yukinari's tongue entered her mouth and moved against hers as a low groan escaped his throat.

_**Just one kiss and I'm alive  
One kiss and I'm ready to die  
'Cause you're so beautiful**_

He moved his lips from her mouth trailing down to her neck, nibbling a bit. He could smell her sweet blood, though he couldn't taste her blood just yet.

Hanako laughed a bit. "What?" Yukinari spoke suddenly, stopping mid-kiss.

"If I can recall, you commented that my blood would taste the sweetest because I'm a full-blooded Gaian. Am I right?" she said.

Yukinari grinned at her."Ah, that's only for you to know, my dear."

Hanako giggled. "But I don't taste my own blood, Yukinari."

He smiled, "Well, then it looks like I'm going to be one who gets to taste it."

Hanako's wings fluttered a bit. "Not yet, please."

He nodded. "All right. I'll wait until you're ready. But might I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever…" Yukinari trailed off, smiling sheepishly.

Hanako blushed a beet red. "Ah, to be honest, no, I haven't."

"_Really_? Actually, I should know better. Gaian women are trained to be warriors, not lovers."

"Oh, you'd be surprised, Yukinari, there are lovers. Many."

Yukinari smiled and continued to kiss her, sticking his tongue in her mouth. Hanako could feel one of his sharp fangs brush against her upper lip. She wrapped his arms around him again as she felt herself being pulled closer to his body.

Yukinari lifted her up and sat her on his bed. he pulled away from her and reached for her shoes to remove them. Hanako protested him to stop. She looked at the robe that he wore; part of it was revealing his strong torso. She reached for the stash that was tied around his waist. She untied it and opened his robe to reveal his blue pants. Something hard was pushed to one side in his pants. She gave him a strange look and all Yukinari could do was laugh.

"So this must really be your first time then, huh?" Yukinari chuckled.

"Yes, I'm afraid it is," Hanako replied, blushing a shade of red. She couldn't help but notice his strong torso and stomach. His body revealed many battle scars as she placed her fingers on his chest and slowly moved down to his waist.

She stopped. He placed his hands on hers, pulling his pants down, revealing his manhood.

"You don't know how long I've waited for this moment, Hanako."

She cast her eyes to his face. For once she saw something she had never seen before: sincerity.

"Yukinari," she said, "has it always been love or lust?"

"Both," he replied, grabbing her face and kissing her.

He removed her pants and lay her on the bed. Yukinari kissed her chest and trailed down to her stomach.

_**Just one touch and I'm on fire  
One touch and I'm crying  
'Cause you're so beautiful**_

She felt his warm breath on her womanhood, feeling his tongue in her. She moaned as he went deeper in her, feeling her on the inside. She felt like she was on fire. "Oh, Yukinari," She whispered. She placed her hands on his head, brushing her fingers through his hair.

_Her innocence tast__es__ so sweet_, he thought, _could her blood be any sweeter_? "Hanako," he said as he lifted his head. She looked down at him questioningly.

"You know what we are doing is forbidden. My master—the Prince of Darkness—commanded me to stop, said that we both would be making a grave mistake. But I couldn't really give a damn."

"That's ironic. Once the council finds out about us, I will be stripped of my position and possibly banished. At least that's what happens when an Angel crosses over to the dark side. No one has ever done it-I may be the first."

"I'm not afraid, Hanako, of what will happen to us."

"Neither am I, just as long as you are at my side."

She gathered his hands in hers and smiled, opening her mouth to brush her lips against his. Hanako's wings wrapped around them. She held him for a moment before he laid her on her back.

Yukinari spread her legs and looked at her. "Are you ready?"

She looked at him and nodded. "Yes," she whispered.

He kissed her lips and entered her slowly. She felt the pressure between her legs tighten, then she would relax. She dug her nails into his shoulders. "Ah, Yukinari," she whispered. "I want you…I want to you taste me, devour me."

Yukinari slowly pushed in and out of her womanhood, moaning deep in his throat. "_Watashi no ai…_My love," he said, kissing her neck. He started to move faster in her while she wrapped her legs around his waist.

_**Just one smile and I'm wild**_

_**One smile and I'm ready to die**_

_**'Cause you're so beautiful**_

"Make love to me, Yukinari, I want to feel your love."

He flipped her over until she sat on top of him. She moaned loudly, calling out his name. "_Hai_…" he said, grabbing her hips and moving her up and down.

She spread her wings and shuddered at every inch of pleasure she felt push into her. "Yukinari…my darling."

"_Uruwashii_," he said, feeling her breasts. He sat up and gathered her in his arms, snaking his arms around her back. "Can I taste you, Hanako?" he asked.

"Yes, taste me, devour me—oh Yukinari…" Her words trailed off as she felt the pleasure burning between her legs.

Yukinari sank his teeth into her neck, sucking on her pure Gaian blood. "Mmm…" he moaned. Human blood was nothing compared to her blood—it tasted sweet, like pure honey and lavender.

_**Oh and you're so beautiful**_

_**My darling**_

He trailed kisses down her chest and bit into her left breast. He heard her moan again as she continued to pull him in and out of her. The pleasure was getting stronger, and Hanako had to control her emotions. _Just a little while longer, please…_ she thought while clenching her fists.

_**Oh you're so beautiful**_

_**You're so beautiful**_

Yukinari turned her over on the bed, grabbing her rear. They both sank to their knees as he entered her again. Hanako whispered his name. She bent forward onto the bed while he pumped in and out of her. "Go slowly, please," she pleaded. "I want to feel you."

_**Oh my baby**_

_**You're so beautiful**_

He did as she wanted; he pushed in and out of her—going at a slow pace.

_**And you're so beautiful**_

He grabbed her rear and began to go faster. Just when Hanako thought she would explode from the pleasure, he picked her up and shifted position to take her from behind. He snaked his arms around her waist, placing one hand on her breast and the other hand on her womanhood, teasing her.

_**Oh my darling**_

_**Oh my baby**_

He then pulled out and looked at her, kissing her passionately. Her wings fluttered as he lay on her back, entering her again.

"I love you, Hanako," he whispered. He pushed hard into her once more, groaning. Hanako felt the pleasure burning again, rising until she couldn't hold back anymore. She let herself fall into the feeling of being in a beautiful paradise with the one she loves. "Yukinari," she whispered, moaning, "I-I love you—Oh, my love…"

_**And you're so beautiful**_

They both climaxed as Yukinari pushed harder into her. Hanako grabbed his rear and pushed herself into him. He breathed heavily and smiled at her; Hanako smiled back. They kissed and held each other through the remainder of the night.

Morning came and Yukinari found himself alone in his bed. There was a note lying next to him:

My Dearest Yukinari,

I had to return to Gaia. It may take me a few days to get back to you. Please wait for me.

With Love, Hanako

He sat up in bed, putting the letter next to his bedside. He lay back down and sighed. Suddenly, a storm gathered outside. Yukinari didn't pay much attention to it until he heard a voice call out his name.

**Yukinari, my faithful servant, I knew you would disobey me**.

Yukinari shot up from the bed. "I will no longer be your servant! I love Hanako and I pledge myself to protect her at all cost!"

**You will pay for your insolence! You belong to me!**

Dark clouds engulfed the room and the corpse figures descended from below, grabbing Yukinari and dragging him to the dark abyss portal. The carried him to the open gates of hell.

"NO! Hanako!" He shouted before the gates closed behind them.


	9. Eight: The Trial of Hanako

**Of Angels and Vampires**

**Chapter Eight**

The Trial of Hanako

By Fallon

Author's Note: Will someone please submit a review? I would much appreciate it!

Hanako stood before the Council, looking ashamed.

She shifted her eyes to Mayura, who appeared displeased.

"What do you have to report, General?" Mayura asked.

Hanako sighed deeply. "I bring forth bad news, my Council," she said, bowing. "I have failed you once again to bring Yukinari down. I must confess that I mated with him."

The Council stirred with talk and gasps.

"You see! I _knew_ it!" Odin shouted.

"How could you betray us, Hanako?" Xavira shouted.

"Your own people!" Demitri said.

"After all we have done for you! Appointing you as General for Her Defensive Alliance!" Raziya said.

Mayura looked at the Council, then at Hanako.

"Then this leaves us no choice," she said. "We will come to a vote. All those in favor to remove

Hanako as General from Her Defensive Alliance say aye."

"Aye!" The five Council members spoke in agreement.

"Those opposing," Mayura said, and it was silent.

"Very well, it is done," she said, closing her eyes. She opened them and looked at Hanako.

"From this day forward, Hanako shall be stripped from her duties as General. We order her imprisoned until her trial tomorrow, where we shall judge her and decide her fate. Guards, take her away!" she said, waving her right arm.

Two men approached Hanako and led her out of the Council chambers.

Mayura sat in her chair, sighing. _How could you betray us, Hanako?_

Hanako was locked in a dark cell with a tiny window that allowed only a little light. She sighed, thinking about what they would do to her. She might be stripped of her wings and turned mortal.  
Or they might send her to hell as a fallen Angel.  
_  
The devil wouldn't want me_, she thought. _Although he has his own choice to make with his rogue traitor..._

Hanako didn't dare to think what would happen to Yukinari. He was probably facing a greater punishment.

She saw a shadow approach her cell door. "You have a visitor," the guard said.

Hanako rose from her spot as a light-blue haired woman entered through the door."Leiko!" she cried, running towards her.

Leiko embraced Hanako. "General—"

"I am no longer your General, Leiko," Hanako interrupted.

"I know, but you will always be General to me," Leiko replied, bowing.

"You're probably wondering what happened."

"Well, I did wonder if it had to do with the Vampire Lord, my lady."

"Yes, indeed it did," Hanako replied.

"What will they do with you, General?"

"I do not know. I will be put on trial and will learn my fate there. More than likely I will be banished from the company of the Angels.."

Leiko shook her head. "It's not right—"

"It's the only way, Leiko. I have broken the rules and now must face my punishment for it."

"When will they put you on trial?" Leiko asked.

"Tomorrow," Hanako responded.

"I came to let you know that you still have supporters, General. We will be there at your side."

"You will be viewed as traitors, Leiko. Please do not do that for me."

"But some of the members of Her Defensive Alliance—"

"No, please do not support me. I alone have committed a crime. I will not have all of you fall with me."

Leiko stepped back towards the door, looking at Hanako. Tears streamed down her face as the guard opened the door.

Hanako's heart sank. She now was truly alone.

The next day came. Hanako stood with two male guards each at her side. She looked up and saw a light shining down on her. The Council sat surrounding her; a large crowd of Gaians took seats behind her. Leiko sat up front, looking intently at Hanako. Her trial was made public for all of Gaia to attend; this was the first public trial by an Angel who betrayed their own kind.  
Demitri rose from his chair, "Hanako, you are hearby placed on trial for treason and siding with our enemy, the Vampire Lord Yukinari."

The crowd buzzed with sudden outrage.

"Our General betrayed us? She deserves to be put to death!" one young man shouted.

"How dare she side with the Vampires than her own kind!" a woman yelled.

"She mated with the Vampire Lord and she deserves to rot in hell right along with him!"

Hanako hung her head, trying to choke back her tears.

Mayura slammed her hammer on the table several times. "Silence!" she barked.

"Therefore, we the Council of Gaia," Demitri continued, "hereby strip you of your duties as

General of Her Defensive Alliance, and we banish you to Terra for all eternity."

Hanako was silent.

"You are hereby declared banished and you will be turned human. You will have no memory of Gaia or of your past," Mayura said coldly.

"How do you plead?" Odin spoke.

"Guilty," Hanako replied.

The Council members rose from their seats and spoke in unity: "We the Council of Gaia hereby declare you mortal. May you have no memory of us or your past. Your days as an Angel have come to an end."

Mayura held Hanako's staff, tapping it on the floor. The red orb lit up, and the wings fluttered furiously. The two male guards stepped back as a red light shot from the orb through Hanako's chest, revealing her wings. She arched her back as her wings dispersed into a million feathers spreading around her. She looked as she saw the feathers scatter. Tears began to form in her eyes. Everything that she had been was now gone—an Angel—now turned mortal.

Leiko shook her head, quietly sobbing. "It's not fair," she said as she watched the woman she  
vowed to protect turn mortal.

The red light faded. Hanako sank to her knees as she hung her head in exhaustion. She lifted her head to look at the Council one last time before a portal opened up to reveal the entrance to Yukinari's palace.

She was being escorted by the two guards to the portal, she turned and looked at the crowd and then at the Council.

"Once when you pass through the portal, you can never return or have any memory of us," Mayura said. "The only memory you will have is the Vampire Lord."

Hanako didn't say a word. She turned and walked through the portal—leaving everything she knew behind.

Hanako walked through the portal and into the grounds of the palace. She walked up the stairs to the main hall entrance and collapsed to the floor.

Suzumi walked down the stairway with Takeshi by her side with Kasumi following close behind.

Suzumi gasped as she noticed Hanako lying on the floor.

"Asashi! Get help, it's Hanako!" she said.

Asashi came running with two other women following her to Hanako's side.

They threw a blanket over her, since her clothes were frayed and worn from the past few days of her imprisonment. They carried her upstairs to Yukinari's chambers.

"What happened to her?" Kasumi asked.

"Looks like they banished her from Gaia," Suzumi replied. "Though once she awakes, we will have to break the news to her about my father."

Suzumi came to her father's chambers to find him missing a few days ago. Nothing was left but the note she found written by Hanako. That was when she knew her father was dragged to Hell for falling in love with Hanako.

Hanako awoke with a sudden fright, jumping up from the bed.

"Where am I?" she asked frantically.

Suzumi took her hand. "It's all right, Hanako. You're here at the palace with us."

She looked around, looking at Takeshi and Kasumi, then at Suzumi.

"Where's Yukinari?" she asked, confused.

"That's what we have been waiting for to tell you, Hanako. You might not be in the best state to hear it, but I may as well tell you anyway," Suzumi said. "You see, after you left to return, uh, _home_, my father was brought back to Hell for imprisonment."

"Why?" Hanako asked.

"You see, we are forbidden to do something. When we break rules, there are dire consequences we must face."

"You mean he's in Hell right now, and he may be put to death?"

"No, more like spending an eternity in Hell."

Hanako got out of the bed. "We must go after him, whether you are with me or not."

"I believe this is something you must face alone—" Suzumi was suddenly interrupted by a female voice cutting her off.

"Not entirely alone."

Hanako looked and saw a light-blue haired woman standing in the doorway. "Who—"

"Leiko, ma'am. I was someone you once knew."  
"Will you help me get Yukinari back?" she asked.

Leiko nodded and bowed. "Yes, of course, my lady."

"How do we get there?" Hanako asked Suzumi.

"Let me open a portal for you," she replied.

They went down to the main hall. Once they arrived, Suzumi's eyes began to glow a light blue.  
"Sin dark as night, let there be no light. I open the portal to the gates of Hell. Let ye who dwell befell."

The ground crumbled below their feet and Hanako looked down in horror at the sight of fire burning in the dark abyss portal. There stood a three-headed dog, Cerberus, guarding the gates.

"Once you enter those gates, you will find my father there," Suzumi said.

Hanako looked at Leiko. "Are you ready to face the dark?"

"Yes ma'am," she replied.

They entered through the portal to the gates of Hell.


	10. Nine: The Imprisonment of Yukinari

**Of Angels and Vampires**

**Chapter Nine**

The Imprisonment of Yukinari

By Fallon

Yukinari awoke with his wrists bound by chains. He hung close to the wall in a cross-like position. His body was covered in blood from the many lashings he received from whipping by a gargoyle. His master stood watching intently as he asked the questions about Hanako.

**Why did you disobey me?**

Yukinari furrowed his brow as he stared at Lucifer. "I love her. There's nothing that is going to change that."

Lucifer waved his hand as the gargoyle threw the whip back and struck Yukinari from behind. Yukinari groaned as he tried to fight off the sting from the whip.

**I can give you the power to destroy the Angels if you are bound to serve me fully. I can make you a great ruler, Yukinari.**

Yukinari lifted his head, chuckling. "I don't want power and control, Master. I want Hanako."

**Still fixated on the Angel, I see. I'm sure by now they've sentenced her to death for betraying her own kind.**

"What? No! She can't be dead!" Yukinari shouted.

**Just see for yourself.**

Lucifer waved his hand, and an image of Hanako's lifeless body hanging by a noose appeared.

"NO! You're lying!" Yukinari yelled, trying to break free of his chains. Lucifer laughed.

**You belong to me now, and you are my prisoner forever.**

"NO! Damn you, Lucifer!"

Yukinari watched Lucifer disappear into the darkness and he screamed. He sank to his knees, choking back his tears. "Hanako," he whispered.

Hanako and Leiko passed through the gates. Cereberus, the hound guardian of Hell, growled at them as they passed. They could hear the screams coming from the realms of Hell and see the fiery pits burning in the dark abyss.

There stood a demon at a cross roads, fingering through a large book. He had no face, just a grey hooded cloak. He looked up to see the two women standing there. "State your business, Gaian," he spoke to Leiko.

Leiko stepped forward. "I bring forth a prisoner," she said, looking at Hanako.

"Ah, a traitor, I presume?" he asked smoothly.

"Yes," Leiko replied.

"I shall send someone to escort her to the ninth circle," he said, continuing to flip through the pages of the book. He looked in Hanako's direction, exhaling. "Hanako, tried for treason for falling in love with the Vampire Lord Yukinari—ah yes, I saw him pass through for the same fate."

Another demon came and grabbed Hanako by the arm, leading her away from Leiko.

"Wait!" she said, putting her hand up. "I will escort her to the ninth circle."

The grey hooded demon looked at Leiko. "That will not be necessary, Angel. This is far as you go."

"It is ordered by the Council of Gaia that I escort her," Leiko said firmly.

"Very well," the demon said, waving at the other demon to release Hanako.

Leiko grabbed Hanako by the arm, leading her in the direction towards the first circle.

They passed under the signs hung above each circle of Hell, all of them numbered with Roman numerals and displayed in bold letters.

Leiko and Hanako finally reached the ninth circle, passing by the mortals who were trapped in ice with only their heads above the surface. Hanako looked around and didn't notice Yukinari among the many heads. "Where is he?" she asked, looking at Leiko.

Leiko then withdrew an arrow from her quiver and extended her bow and arrow in her hands.

They entered the deepest part of Hell, where they could see cells lined in a circle around a large arena. In them there were emaciated figures, beaten and bloody. One woman sobbed as she reached out to touch Hanako's skirt. "Get me out of here, please!" she pleaded. Hanako backed away from the cell and saw many more like them.

Leiko positioned her bow to the next cell they passed as they looked upon a man with his head hanging as he hung from his chains. He slowly lifted his head and then Hanako recognized him.

"Yukinari!" she exclaimed, grabbing the bars of the cell.

Yukinari looked at Hanako with his left eye. "Hanako, is it really you?" he questioned.

Hanako nodded. "Yes, my love. We have come to rescue you!"

Yukinari's left eye widened. "No, you are making a terrible mistake!" he cried. "Get out of here! If my Master finds you here he'll—"

Yukinari stopped as he saw the red cloaked figure appear behind Hanako, grabbing her arms and holding them behind her back.

**Ah, I knew you would be alive, my dear.**

His other hand touched her cheek and Hanako gasped.

"Let her go!" Yukinari shouted.

Leiko's bow and arrow were taken from her by two demons. A third demon caught her in his grasp, grabbing her wrists.

**And what cost are you willing to give to let her live, Yukinari?**

Yukinari looked at Hanako. "Let me out of here and I will challenge you to a sword fight."

Suzumi and Kasumi sat in the main hall, conjuring a plan together to form a peace treaty with the Angels.

"Let us send a message to Mayura, the head councilwoman," Suzumi said, looking at Kasumi. "You are going to be sent to Gaia to discuss the peace treaty."

Kasumi laughed nervously. "You're sending _me_ on a mission to talk to the Angels?"

"Someone has to do it, Kasumi, and that's why I have chosen you," Suzumi said.

Kasumi sighed. "Okay, but you have to let me see my friends," she said.

Suzumi nodded, smiling. "Of course, I wouldn't keep you from your friends. Besides, they're always entertaining."

Kasumi brought out a pen and paper and waited. "Where do I begin?"

"First, start off by saying, 'Gaian Council, I know there has been a long history of a war between Angels and Vampires. I come to bring an offering of peace: peace between us as a diverse nation of supernatural beings.'"

"What if they protest this?" Kasumi asked.

"They cannot kill the messenger. You serve as the peace maker between Angels and Vampires."

Kasumi looked at Suzumi and continued writing. "Why don't we say, 'This peace treaty will bring forth harmony and unity amongst Angels and Vampires'."

"And 'The Japanese Vampires swear to not kill or harm any humans for any purposes.'"

Suzumi and Kasumi sent a letter towards the sky, asking for permission to enter Gaia. A letter was returned to them as a purple portal opened up. Kasumi was surprised. "Wow! Whaddya know, access granted!" She walked through the portal as Suzumi and Takeshi watched her go.

Kasumi entered into a world where the universe was the sky. She saw the golden gates glimmer as they opened for her. A male Angel with golden-colored wings and armor stood at the entrance.

"Halt!" he barked. Kasumi froze.

"What brings you to Gaia, Vampire?" he questioned.

Kasumi forgot she was a Vampire in this realm; it was taking her a while to get accustomed.

"I bring a peace treaty to discuss with the Council," she replied, showing him the parchment that she and Suzumi wrote.

"Hmm," he said, looking at Kasumi, then at the parchment.

"You seem harmless. Please see the assistant at the front." He moved aside to let her pass.

Kasumi entered through a building to where a woman sat a large desk, filing papers.

"Excuse me, where can I find the Council?" she asked.

The woman dropped the perfectly filed papers and shifted her eyes towards Kasumi. She pointed in the direction of two double doors. "They are expecting you," the woman said.

Kasumi entered through the double doors to a room containing a large conference table in the shape of a horseshoe. All six council members sat in their chairs awaiting Kasumi.

She stood in front of the Council and cleared her throat.

"You are here to discuss a peace treaty with us. Is that correct, peace maker?" Mayura asked, looking at Kasumi intently.

Kasumi nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Read us what you wrote, my dear," Mayura commanded.

Kasumi unraveled the parchment and began to read.

"Our Empress Suzumi humbly requests to form a peace between Gaian Angels and Japanese Vampires. We, the Japanese Vampires, do not want to hurt or kill any humans. Our source of blood comes from animals and blood banks. We wish to make peace with the Angels in harmony and unity as a diverse nation of supernatural beings. Empress Suzumi hopes you agree to this treaty, as it is truthful and loyal to every word."

Mayura looked to Odin, then to the other council members. "We will discuss our decision in private. Please wait outside."

Kasumi nodded, then bowed as she backed away. She sat outside the council chambers. Although the large doors to the Council's chambers were firmly closed, she could hear the conversation between the council members become intense.

"I say no to the treaty!" Odin yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

"I agree with it. We could ask for an apology from Yukinari for General Ria's death," Xavira said.

"That's like asking for an apology from the Nazis for the Holocaust," Raziya said.

"It's worth a shot. Since we exiled Hanako, he would have to apologize," Demitri said.

"He may have a change of heart, thanks to Hanako," Azar said.

"All in favor of the treaty say aye," Mayura said.

Azar, Xavira, and Demitri and Mayura stood up. "Aye," they agreed.

"Those opposing?"

"Oppose!" Both Raziya and Odin spoke in unison.

"Four ayes and two opposes," Mayura said, looking at Raziya and Odin.

"If we agree with this treaty, I am resigning my position as a council member," Odin said coldly.

Mayura nodded her head. "If that is how you feel, there is no one stopping you, Odin. Therefore, the majority rules that we will agree with this treaty."

The doors flung open and Kasumi entered, standing before the Council once more.

"Peace maker Kasumi, we will agree with this treaty only under one condition," Mayura said firmly. "We will ask as a united nation of Gaia that Yukinari sincerely apologize for the death of General Ria."

"I will be sure to carry out this request to Yukinari, ma'am." Kasumi bowed.

"By the way, where is Yukinari?" Mayura asked.

"Um, I don't know really know how to put this... he's in Hell right now. Hanako and another angel are down there trying to rescue him."

"Angel?" Mayura said.

"You don't think it could be Leiko?" Azar questioned.

"It was Leiko, sir," Kasumi answered. "She came to the palace shortly after Hanako came."

"There's no way those two could fight the Devil alone!" Raziya said.

"We have to save them." Odin stood up.

Mayura was shocked. "Yes, we are the only ones who can defeat Lucifer."

The Council gathered around Kasumi. Mayura opened a portal, revealing the gates of hell.

"Everyone stay close," Mayura said as she held her staff in her hands.

Shurii sat outside the palace, standing guard. He noticed in the short distance a large crowd inching closer and closer to the palace grounds. He squinted his eyes and noticed a blonde woman leading an army.

"Aya," he whispered.

Running into the palace, he closed the large doors. He called for other guards to come help him before racing to the lookout's post.

"Open the gate! I have a bone to pick with Yukinari!" Aya yelled.

"He's not present at the moment!" Shurii yelled back.

"Why not?" she asked.

"He was taken prisoner to the gates of Hell!"

Aya threw her head back and laughed. "Serves the old fool right! He deserves to rot in Hell!"

"What do you want, Aya?" Shurii asked.

"I want to rule the Japanese Vampires. Since Yukinari is absent, I will gladly take over."

"Not without a fight, you won't."

"Oh, really? Well I accept your challenge, Sir Shurii."

Shurii disappeared from above. Seconds later, one side of the large door opened to reveal him. He withdrew his sword from its sheath and stood in fighting stance. "In order to get to the palace, you'll have to go through me."

Aya laughed. "I will easily defeat you, Shurii."

She withdrew her own sword and ran towards Shurii, leaping into the air. Their swords clashed with a _**clank!**_

Yukinari fell to the ground, dropping his sword. _He's too strong_, he thought, struggling to get up.

Hanako and Leiko sat together as two demons stood in front of them, making sure they wouldn't escape.

Yukinari rose to his feet, holding his sword. He ran to Lucifer at top speed, clashing his sword with his inferno sword. Lucifer pushed Yukinari back, sending him ascending through the air. Yukinari landed on his back.

Lucifer formed sharp rocks with his mind, quickly sending them flying towards Yukinari. Yukinari quickly rolled out of the way before the sharp rocks could touch him. He leaped to his feet and lifted his sword over his head, clashing his sword once more with the inferno sword.

Yukinari tried with all his might to overpower Lucifer.

**Give it up, Yukinari, you will never win!**

Yukinari looked at Hanako, her brown eyes welling up with tears.

"YES, I WILL!" he shouted, pushing Lucifer on his back.

The Prince of Darkness rose to his feet, tossing his inferno sword aside. He lifted his hands up, mentally grabbing a hold of Yukinari and bringing him closer. When Yukinari was within reach, Satan grabbed his throat with his strong, clawed hand, blocking his airway.

**Foolish Vampire, your soul belongs to me!**

Suddenly a light appeared in the darkness. The demons that held Hanako and Leiko captive screamed as the light made them disperse.

The Council members fluttered and folded their wings as they stood in a line, side by side. Kasumi stood behind Mayura, frightened.

Mayura's three wings fluttered softly as she held her staff in front of her. She took a great leap and hit Lucifer in the face with her staff. He dropped Yukinari, who coughed as he tried to catch his breath. Hanako came running to him, tightly embracing him.

Lucifer fell to the ground, looking up at Mayura.

**Councilwoman Mayura, what a pleasant surprise.**

"Let them go, Satan!" she spat.

**You can have the others, but the Vampire belongs to me!**

"No, you will release him or face dire consequences!"

**Is that a challenge?**

"Bring it on!"

Lucifer jumped to his feet, his inferno sword appearing in his hands. Mayura stood ready. Azar stood beside her as did Odin on her other side, both men holding their swords in their hands. Xavira and Raziya stood by Leiko and Kasumi. Yukinari and Hanako held each other.

Lucifer laughed.


	11. Ten: The Trade and The Dark Angel

**Of Angels and Vampires**

**Chapter Ten**

The Trade  
and  
The Dark Angel

By Fallon

Shurii stood over Aya, looking down at her and kicking her sword aside. "Leave the palace," he commanded.

Aya gave him a wicked smile, throwing her legs up and wrapping her legs around him. She threw him down and Shurii fell to the ground. Aya picked up her sword and pointed the sharp end at his throat.

"I'm going to overthrow you and that little witch Suzumi!" She spoke through her teeth.

Suzumi came running at top speed towards Aya, kicking her in the face.

Aya fell and shook her head, looking up at Suzumi.

"Gather up your zombies and leave!" she said.

Aya laughed."I'm not going to leave any time soon! Zombies, hold them down!"

Shurii fought off the Zombies that were trying to get near him and Suzumi. They stood beside one another, in fighting stance.

Takeshi came running, slashing zombies left and right. "Suzumi!" he shouted.

Suzumi's eyes glowed a light blue, bringing her hands together.

"From the depths of Hell I call upon thee, come forth, Seiryuu!" she shouted, raising her hands to the sky.

The ground crumbled from below, and Seiryuu rose from the ruins, roaring.

Seiryuu tore the zombies apart with his sharp teeth, then growled furiously at Aya.

Aya stepped back. "No, not again!" she said.

"Madam, you promised that we would kill the Vampires and take over the palace!" one zombie said.

"I need several of you to go after the dragon! The others, attack the Vampires!" Aya commanded.

The group split apart. The largest group of zombies rushed toward Seiryuu. One jumped on top of the dragon, biting and scratching its long neck. Seiryuu cried out in pain, trying to shake the zombie off. Several more zombies attacked the dragon, tearing its skin apart and sending dark red blood gushing from the dragon's body.

"NO!" Suzumi screamed.

Aya laughed.

A female zombie came after Shurii, throwing her clawed hand in his face. He barely missed her hit and he slashed her arm off. She screamed, then growled and threw her other hand in his face. She scratched the right side of his face as he tried to dodge her claw.

Shurii held his cheek and looked at the blood, then looked at the female zombie. She charged at him. Shurii charged at her throwing his sword over his head. He brought the sword down, quickly decapitating her.

Seiryuu screamed in pain as it tried to rise up, throwing the zombies off it, then biting them and throwing them aside. Suzumi ran to Seiryuu's side, petting the dragon's nose.

"You've done all you could. I don't want you to get killed. Go back."

Seiryuu dispersed into a blue light and disappeared.

Suzumi looked at Aya. "You're going to pay for hurting my dragon."

"Zombies, seize them!" Aya said, pointing at the three vampires.

A large group of zombies approached Suzumi and the two men. "Got any ideas, Suzumi?" Takeshi asked.

"We can't use Seiryuu, so we're outnumbered," Suzumi replied.

Lucifer laughed.

**You Gaians have a lot of nerve to go past the gates of Hell.**

"Let Yukinari go, Satan," Mayura said firmly.

**No! He belongs to me!**

"I'm no longer your servant!" Yukinari shouted.

**You don't have a choice; if you leave here you must agree to give me your soul.**

Yukinari looked at Hanako, then at the others. "If I give you my soul, will you let us go?"

**In exchange for your release, then yes.**

Yukinari stepped forward.

"Wait, Yukinari, you don't have to do this!" Hanako said, grabbing his hand.

"I have to, Hanako, in order for us to go home."

Hanako looked at him carefully. "Let me take your place instead! After all, I am mortal..." she said, casting her eyes down.

**Ah, the plot thickens!**

"Hanako, I can't let you do that! You've already been banished from Gaia!"

"Please, let me do this for you...I love you."

Hanako brushed past Yukinari, approaching Lucifer. She sank to her knees. "I pledge myself to the darkness," she said meekly, grabbing a sharp rock and slicing her left hand.

Lucifer chuckled. **You take his place instead. You're very brave.**

Hanako didn't reply.

**Very well, your soul is mine to keep.**

Mayura's mouth dropped open as she watched Lucifer's hand submerging into Hanako's body, tearing out her spirit from her human form. She gasped, and her eyes widened in shock. Lifting her head, she looked up at Lucifer, seeing nothing but darkness around his face and his eyes glowing a fiery red, like two embers burning.

Hanako fell forward, falling on her face.

**You're mine now, Hanako.**

Lucifer turned and walked away, carrying Hanako's soul with him. He lifted her spirit up and it ascended into the arena. There in a bright fiery flame appeared a pool of millions of souls floating in midair. Her spirit gave one last look before she joined the others, giving them a sad expression.

"NO!" Yukinari screamed, running to Hanako's side and gathering her in his strong arms. He kissed her forehead and held her face to his. "You didn't have to do that, my love," he whispered.

Mayura approached Yukinari's side. "Come, we must go." He looked at her and nodded.

Aya looked throughout the main hall of the palace, watching the zombies bring in the Vampires and forming them in groups.

Shurii's face became infected from the scratch he received earlier from the battle with the female zombie. He breathed heavily as he tried to fight off the pain he felt inside.

Suzumi looked at him, worried. "I wish there was something we could do, Shurii. You're becoming one of them!"

Shurii shook his head. "No, this can't be!"

His eyes become bloodshot as he felt a great power over ome him. He screamed in pain as he fell to the ground in seizure. He rose and gave a low growl, looking at Suzumi and the other Vampires. Suzumi's eyes widened in fear. "No, Shurii," she said.

He then looked over to the other zombies and they growled at him.

Shurii showed his fangs as he growled and ran with haste, slashing one zombie with his claws.

A zombie came up from behind, grabbing his neck and biting him.

Shurii shook the zombie off and punched him in the face.

Aya laughed. "Welcome aboard, Shurii." she said grinning.

Shurii shook his head. "No! I am not a part of your army! I serve the Vampire Lord Yukinari!"

He ran towards her, throwing his hand back to strike her face. Aya dodged him, twirling around him and kicking under his feet, making him fall to the ground. "Zombies, hold him down!"

A few male zombies came and grabbed Shurii, wrestling him to the ground.

Aya had her sword in her hands, pointing the sharp end in Shurii's face.

"Goodbye, Shurii!" She raised her sword over her head. As she was bringing it down, Yukinari blocked her sword with his with a _**clank!**_

Shurii looked at Yukinari, smiling. "My lord!"

Yukinari smiled back, placing his hand on his shoulder. He then ran towards Aya, their swords clanking together again.

Leiko held Hanako in her arms, while Mayura escorted her into the palace. The rest of the Council members were fighting off zombies.

"Bring her to Yukinari's chambers and keep an eye on her. I hope she will awaken. We don't know what the Devil has done to her since taking her soul," Mayura said, while Leiko nodded.

"Understood, ma'am," she replied.

Leiko went up the stairs and took Hanako to Yukinari's chambers. She lay her down on the bed just as Hanako's eyes fluttered open. She quickly sat up, looking at Leiko.

"Where's Yukinari?" she asked frantically.

"It's all right. He's in a battle with Aya right now. Lady Mayura wanted me to bring you up here."

"I have to go help, Leiko!"

"No, Hanako, just stay here."

Hanako got up from the bed, but then she felt lightheaded, almost falling to the floor. Leiko caught her in her arms.

"You are not well enough to fight."

Hanako nodded. "I felt a darkness over come me when I felt him take my soul."

Leiko looked at Hanako intently. "What kind of darkness?"

"He spoke through me and told me I am a Being of Darkness. He gave me a vision of my new form."

Hanako stood up, arching her back. She inhaled the air and revealed her dark wings. Leiko stared in awe at the sight of Hanako's wings.

"A dark angel," Leiko whispered.

"He gave me this sword too." Hanako held out her hands and dark smoke appeared, forming a sword. She held a black sword and stood in fighting stance. "I once served the Light. Now I am a slave to the Dark," she said, holding her sword in front of her. Hanako walked out of Yukinari's chambers to the battlefield while Leiko followed behind her, not stopping her.

Yukinari swung his sword upward. Aya blocked his attack, grinning.

"Looks like I might win this, Yukinari."

"I don't think so Aya!"

He shoved her into the wall, grabbing her throat. He revealed his fangs and hissed at her, "I was foolish to fall in love with you, Aya. Now I'm going to kill you!" He shoved his sword into her stomach, causing her to gag.

"You're defeated, Aya, now die!"

He put his sword at her throat and sliced it open. Then he dropped her, sending Aya falling to the ground with a pool of blood surrounding her.

Azar decapitated a zombie as he backed away, then turned when he heard a scream across the palace grounds. He looked to see Aya lying on the ground, dead. He saw the remaining zombies being killed off by the other Council members and Vampires.

He then noticed Hanako approaching the battlefield, a dark sword in her hands with her dark wings expanding as she walked.

Hanako's eyes glowed a fiery red. She ran towards Azar, slashing his arm. He looked at her, shocked, trying to dodge her next attack.

"Hanako! What are you doing?"

Leiko tried to grab Hanako from behind. "Hanako, stop!"

Hanako knocked Leiko to the ground, aiming her sword at her throat. Leiko stared into Hanako's fiery eyes and gasped. _He's controlling her._

Mayura clashed her sword with Hanako's. "Stop, Hanako!" she yelled.

Hanako quickly shifted her attention to Mayura. She glared at her, growling.

"I serve the prince of darkness. Let the harvest begin." She turned and flew away from the palace grounds. "The harvest of reaping of souls." Mayura said, turning to the others. "We must stop her or she's going to bring Hell on earth."

Demitri nodded, "Yes. Our treaty is in affect and we must work together."

"It is our duty to protect the human race, will you help us lord Yukinari?" Odin asked, holding out his hand. Yukinari looked at Odin and nodded. "Yes, the Japanese Vampires will join forces with the Angels." He shook his hand.


	12. Eleven: The Harvest and The Gods

**Of Angels and Vampires**

**Chapter 11**

The Harvest

And  
The Gods

By Fallon

Crowds of people ran through the streets of Kyoto, screaming. Hanako slashed her sword through a man, then stabbed her sword through a woman. She looked around and saw the scattering of people. She held out her hand, causing her sword to disperse in black smoke. She formed a whip from the thick smoke and threw it back. The whip wrapped around a man's neck. The man's soul tore out of his body, and he dropped dead to the ground.

Hanako's eyes burned a fiery red as she threw her whip back and caught a few more people in its grasp, tearing their souls out one by one.

Yukinari and Shurii ran to the streets as people frantically ran past them, brushing by them.

Mayura and the five council members stood side by side together. Suzumi and Kasumi held hands as they watched the chaos stirring before them. Takeshi stood next to Suzumi, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Hanako turned to notice the group standing there; she cracked her whip and stared at Yukinari.

He approached her, holding his hand out. "Hanako, it's me."

She furrowed her brow. "Foolish Vampire, you will pay for disobeying our Master! Darkness shall prevail!" She drew her whip back, then threw it forward.

Yukinari held his left arm up, but Mayura blocked it with her staff.

She threw down her staff and looked at Yukinari. "It's hopeless, Yukinari, let her go!"

"No! She can break through the Devil's control—"

"There's no way she can, she's lost!"

Suzumi grabbed Yukinari. "Come on, Father. Let's return to the palace to figure out a plan."

Hanako looked at the group and laughed maniacally as they began to walk away.

Yukinari looked back at her. _Ever since she took my place…I wonder if there's a way to get her back._

He watched her disappear into the dark abyss portal.

"Okay, what's our plan?" Takeshi asked, sitting between Kasumi and Suzumi.

"We can't summon Seiryuu because he got pretty banged up with the zombies. We'll have to find an alternative," Suzumi replied.

Demitri stood up. "Maybe if we get Tsukasa and his army here to help us?"

Mayura shook her head. "We could use someone like Tsukasa, since he was close with Hanako."

"Maybe if we called upon the God Hyperion, he could help us," Leiko said.

"Yes, getting the Gods to help us is one thing, but how?" Azar asked.

"Some of us will have to go to Mount Olympus to ask for help. Zeus might be able to help also," Mayura replied.

"We need Apollo for his ability of Light to break Hanako of the darkness that surrounds her," Odin said.

"And Athena for her wisdom of justice and war," Mayura added. She waved her hand, and a portal appeared. "Anyone that wants to come with us better go now."

Hanako knelt before her master, bowing her head.

He touched her head with his claw and chuckled.

**You are accustomed to your new powers, Hanako, I'm impressed.**

Hanako nodded. "Yes, master, it's everything I could ask for."

**Reap the harvest, my Angel, and bring me more souls. And bring me back Yukinari, alive.**

"As you wish, Master."

_**Mt. Olympus**_

When the group of Angels and Vampires reached the gates of Mt. Olympus, they were able to pass through without comment. Takeshi looked at Suzumi, grabbing her hand.

Mayura approached a man in gold armor. "We wish to speak with the gods Zeus and Apollo," she said.

The man in gold armor bowed slightly. "I will let them know you are here."

He disappeared from sight through two double doors.

"Send them in," a voice boomed.

The doors flung open and the man in gold armor stood aside to let them pass.

There, on a white marble thrones, sat Zeus and his wife Hera. The Council members knelt on one knee with hands over their hearts and their heads bowed.

"Hail Zeus, mighty God of weather and ruler of the gods," Mayura spoke firmly.

"Hail Zeus!" The other Council members spoke in agreement.

"What brings you here today, my daughter of Gaia?" Zeus asked.

"We seek help from you and the god Apollo and goddess Athena. Our former sister, Hanako, was banished from Gaia and sold her soul to the Devil. Now she is under his control and is wreaking havoc upon the humans," Mayura replied, lifting her head.

"Why did she sell her soul?" Zeus asked.

Yukinari stepped forward. "It was because the Prince of Darkness is my Master. He wanted my soul in return for my release from Hell."

"Hmm, so she took your place instead. That's very interesting," Zeus said, sighing. "Well, there must be a balance between Light and Darkness, therefore I can't help you much. I am sorry."

"Is there a way we can get help from Apollo and Athena?" Mayura asked.

"Yes, I don't see why not," Zeus replied, pointing in the direction of Apollo and Athena's temples.

_**Yukinari's Palace**_

Shurii and Leiko both stood outside the palace. Nightfall had come. Leiko lifted her head up, looking at the stars.

Shurii touched his cheek where the female zombie scratched him.

"I wonder if we can find a cure for you, Shurii," she said.

Shurii shrugged. "I'm not sure. Is there an existing antidote for curing zombies?"

"I'm sure there is. not unless we ask a healing from the gods., Leiko replied, looking at Shurii.

"So, I've always wondered what it's like on Gaia. What can you tell me?"

"Well, it's beautiful. If you've ever been to Greece, it looks a lot like that. We are surrounded by fields and water-lakes, if you will-and as you can see, we are ruled by our Council. They are our government and we worship the Gods."

"What kind of Gods do you worship?" Shurii asked, intrigued.

"I worship the Goddess Athena. She represents war and justice. Hanako used to worship Athena and Aphrodite-the goddess of love-before she was banished," Leiko replied.

"It makes me happy to see Lord Yukinari back to his old ways again. He was a different man after his first wife Satomi died."

"Who was Satomi?"

"Satomi was a kind woman. Yukinari fell in love with her the moment he saw her. They met at a Gathering when they were young. They married and had Suzumi, then Aya came into the picture. She was Satomi's assistant, much like Asashi, except with more anger in her heart. Aya was a jealous woman. You could always see it on her face.

"One day, Aya had served Satomi and her friends tea, and little beknown to us at the time, she had poisoned Lady Satomi. It was an absolute shame to watch her suffer from her sickness. We didn't know what to do and this left Yukinari feeling helpless. Watching his wife die was like losing your sister."

"How old was Suzumi when her mother died?" Leiko asked.

"Suzumi must have been ten, since this was during the Edo period of the 1800s. She later died at the age of sixteen."

Leiko responded with a "Hmm," looking at the stars again.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're beautiful, Leiko?" Shurii asked, looking at her and smiling.

Leiko looked surprised. "Well, no, actually. You're probably the first person to tell me that."

"In that case," Shurii said, taking her hand and holding it inches away from his lips. "Leiko of Gaia, I think you are a beautiful woman. You deserve to be blessed by the Goddess Aphrodite."

"Nonsense, I serve Her Defensive Alliance. When do I have time for love?"

"Well, maybe it's time someone protects you instead of you doing all the work."

"Are you saying..." Leiko trailed off, blushing.

Shurii nodded, "Yes, my lady, although I can't touch you. Once we find a cure, I will be your protector."

_**Temple of Apollo**_

Mayura and her Council members with the four Vampires stood in front of the God Apollo. The Council members knelt down and said in unison, "Hail the God Apollo!"

"What brings all of you here?" he asked, looking over the Gaians and Vampires.

"We seek your help in getting our former sister Hanako back." Raziya said.

"Former sister? Was she banished?"

"Yes, my lord. She broke the rule of falling in love with a vampire," Mayura replied.

"In love with a Vampire?" Apollo was surprised. He looked at the Vampires again and looked at Yukinari. "It seems as if Hanako will bring balance to the war between Light and Darkness."

"How is this possible?" Mayura asked.

"Although she's not the only one," Apollo replied, looking at Kasumi.

Kasumi laughed nervously, blushing.

"If Kasumi is the peace maker, then doesn't that make Hanako the balance of Light and Darkness?" Takeshi asked.

"Indeed. But I think the one who can explain that better is Athena," Apollo replied.

_**Temple of Athena**_

Apollo led the group to Athena's temple. Athena was practicing her sword skills as sweat poured from her brow. She thrust her sword in the air, bringing it in an upward motion. She stopped and looked at Apollo and the group. The Council members knelt, and Athena motioned her hand for them to rise.

"What's going on, Apollo?" she asked.

"These Gaians and Vampires need our help," Apollo replied.

Athena looked at the group. "What kind of help? Speak," she said firmly.

"Our former sister, Hanako, sold her soul to the Devil. Now she is bringing death and destruction to the humans," Mayura said.

"Hanako? Yes, I recall hearing that name. She is my daughter. I remember hearing her prayers asking for wisdom and strength before she went into battle."

"Will you help us, Goddess Athena?" Xavira asked.

"Yes, I will. What about you, Apollo?" Athena asked, looking at him.

"Of course," he replied, nodding his head.

Yukinari stepped forward. "May I ask a favor, Athena?"

"Yes?"

"When this is over, may I ask for your blessing in marrying Hanako?"

Athena approached Yukinari, putting her hand on his shoulder. "That is something you will have to ask the Goddess Aphrodite. I'm sure she will give you her blessing."

Yukinari nodded as Suzumi stood next to him, smiling and taking his hand in hers.

Raziya looked at Mayura. "My lady, if we want more help, we better go get Tsukasa."

"Yes, that will be your job-to go check on things and bring Tsukasa with you."

"Yes, my lady."

_**Gaia**_

Raziya exited the portal to see Tsukasa standing outside the council chambers, waiting for one of the Council members.

"Tsukasa, we need your help," she said.

"It's about Hanako, isn't it?"

"Yes, she sold her soul and is bringing chaos among the humans. Come with me, quickly!"

She opened up the portal and they quickly ran through.

_**Kyoto, Japan**_

Hanako walked through the streets, holding her hands out and extending her dark wings. She saw the people beginning to run as her black sword appeared in her hands. As she slashed her sword, suddenly a bright light descended from above. She looked up and there appeared Apollo and Athena dressed in golden armor, their swords drawn.

Yukinari and Suzumi appeared beside Athena, while the Council members stood side by side of one another.

Hanako laughed. "So, you brought the big guns?"

Athena stepped forward. "Hanako, my daughter, you have been blinded by the Devil's control. We are here to free you."

"No! My Master has given me great power that will even defeat you!"

Hanako charged at Athena, clashing her sword with her black sword. She shoved Athena back, sending her into Mayura's arms.

Athena stood up. "That's one shove. We'll have to come up with a plan," she said, looking at Mayura.

The portal opened up, and Raziya and Tsukasa came running through. "We tried to get back as soon as we could!" she said.

Tsukasa looked at Hanako, observing her smoky black wings and her fiery red eyes. She had her hair pulled back like she had it before, and she wore a black skirt with a blood stained shirt.

He stepped forward. "Hanako, what happened to you?" he asked.

She stood in fighting stance. "I serve the Lord of the Underworld...he wants your soul."

She slashed his arm. Tsukasa withdrew his sword with his left hand, holding it to block Hanako's next attack. "I'll hold her off, while you guys come up with a plan!" he shouted, blocking her sword.

The group moved closer towards Apollo and Athena. "I have an idea," Apollo began as everyone gathered around him. "I need someone to hold her down while I cast a light spell to cast out the Devil's control over her. Yukinari, I think you're the man for the job. Mayura and Athena, I need you two to distract her while Yukinari tries to grab hold of her. The rest of you, watch each others' back."

Athena and Mayura stood side by side. "Are you ready, Goddess Athena?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied, smiling.

Tsukasa slashed Hanko's hand, knocking her sword out of her hand. She grabbed her hand, growling at him.

"Hanako, why did you sell your soul? You're much smarter than that!" Tsukasa said as he turned around and knocked her down with the hilt of his sword. She laid on the ground and then jumped to her feet. She formed black smoke in her hands, and her whip appeared. cracking the whip.

"Tsukasa!" Mayura shouted, catching his attention.

Tsukasa turned and seen Mayura and Athena stand by his side.

The three of them moved closer to Hanako. Yukinari appeared behind Hanako. "Wait for it!" Athena shouted. Hanako threw her whip back and it lunged forward toward Tsukasa. He threw his sword in the way, blocking the whip. Yukinari waited for them to get Hanako close enough to wrap his arms around her.

Tsukasa still had his sword wrapped around the whip. He yanked it out of her hands, giving Yukinari the chance to grab Hanako and hold her tightly in his grasp.

Hanako screamed, "No! Let me go!"

"Now, Apollo, do it now!" Yukinari yelled.

Apollo held his hand in from his face, "I call upon the forces of the light! Banish this darkness!" A bright light shot from his hand and the light surrounded Hanako and Yukinari. She screamed and shut her eyes. Her black feathers formed around the couple and Hanako's whole entire body turned to golden light.

The light disappeared and she fell back into Yukinari's arms. He caught her and looked at her.

"Hanako, are you all right?" He asked, touching her cheek.

Her eyes fluttered open, "Yu-Yukinari..."

Athena and Apollo appeared at her side, while the Council members gathered around her.

She looked around and smiled at Tsukasa. "Tsukasa, you're here too."

"Of course, Hanako. We had to snap you out of your trance because you were under the Devil's control."

"Goddess Athena, God Apollo..."

Athena knelt down beside Hanako, taking her hand. "My daughter, I'm glad to have you back. I have waited to see you to tell you that I have heard your prayers. Now we must go get your soul and release the others that are held captive."

Hanako nodded. "Yes...but what can I do to get out of the Devil's grasp?"

"Don't worry, we'll take care of that," Apollo said.

"I will take her back to the palace to rest," Suzumi said.

"We'll bring your soul back, love," Yukinari said.

"Be careful, Yukinari."

"I will make a way back to you, my love." Yukinari pressed his lips to Hanako's.

Tsukasa watched Yukinari kiss Hanako, and he turned his head.


	13. Twelve: The Blessing and The Apology

**Of Angels and Vampires**

**Chapter 12**

The Blessing  
and  
The Apology

By Fallon

_**Yukinari's Palace  
- Yukinari's Chambers -**_

Suzumi led Hanako back to the palace. She led her upstairs to Yukinari's chambers where she lay down on his bed. She looked at Suzumi as Leiko appeared by her side.

"Leiko, I'm glad you're here," she said, smiling.

"Yes, I stayed behind while Yukinari and the others went to Mount Olympus."

"You need your rest. I bet you are exhausted from being put under control," Suzumi said.

Hanako nodded. "Yes, but please don't be too far—I'm afraid Lucifer will come after me."

"Don't worry. We're here to protect you," Suzumi replied.

Tsukasa entered the room. He looked at Suzumi. "Before she goes to sleep, may I speak with Hanako?"

Suzumi looked at Hanako, who gave Tsukasa a strange look.

"Well, keep it short because you need your rest," Leiko said as she and Suzumi left the room.

Tsukasa sat on the bed near Hanako, looking at her. "You probably don't remember me, but you and I were friends once."

"We were?"

"Yes," he said, taking her hands in his. "Look, I know Yukinari loves you, but...I also love you."

Hanako looked surprised. "But I barely know you. How could you love me?"

"I've always loved you, but was too scared to show you," Tsukasa replied.

"Scared of what?"

"Of losing you to the Darkness. Now my worst nightmare has come true…I knew it was a terrible mistake."

"Tsukasa, there is nothing you can do that will change my mind about Yukinari. He's changed. He's joined forces with Gaia so we all can finally live in peace."

"Well, I can't say that it's the same for the Western Vampires."

"Suzumi is hoping to join forces with them also."

"Why? So Gaia can be overthrown?"

"No, so we as supernatural beings can live in peace."

"It's not going to work. You wait and see-someone will contest it."

Hanako sighed. "I will make sure they won't. I will bring peace between Angels and all Vampires."

"You don't understand, Hanako! Yukinari will kill you. And I won't be here to protect you."

"I don't need protecting, Tsukasa. Yukinari loves me. He wouldn't hurt me."

"You need your rest. I'm leaving." Tsukasa turned and slid the door shut.

_**The Gates of Hell**_

Athena, Apollo and Yukinari walked past the gates of Hell. Athena had her bow, while Apollo and Yukinari had their swords drawn. They walked past the demon who was fingering through the pages of a large book. He looked at them as they passed by.

They reached the ninth circle of Hell, where Lucifer sat in the center of the arena.

**I've been waiting for you, Yukinari**.

"Give me Hanako's soul," he said firmly.

Lucifer laughed.

**She belongs to me! You can't have her back.**

"Release my daughter or face dire consequences, Devil!" Athena spat.

Lucifer rose from his throne, his inferno sword appearing at his left hand.

**Very well, you leave me no choice.**

He leaped and clashed his sword with Yukinari's. Apollo put his hand in front of his face, then extended his arm. Light shot out of his hand, cutting off Lucifer's right claw. He looked at Apollo as black smoke appeared around his arm, his right hand appearing once more.

Athena withdrew an arrow from her quiver, pulling her bow and arrow back. She released it and it pierced Lucifer's shoulder. She pulled out another one and shot it through his left side.

Yukinari ran to the pool of souls floating in midair. He saw Hanako's soul floating above him and jumped to grab her. Her soul felt lifeless and light. He carried her soul in one arm and held his sword in his hand.

Athena drew another arrow and shot it right at Lucifer's chest. He stumbled a bit, but still managed to stand. He looked and saw Yukinari carrying Hanako's soul. He quickly charged at him but Apollo blocked him before he could get to Yukinari.

"Take her soul and go!" Apollo yelled. He shoved Lucifer back as Athena shot more arrows into his body. Lucifer roared with anger and Apollo motioned for Athena to go. She ran after Yukinari and Apollo stayed behind. "I call upon the forces of light to vanquish the darkness!" He yelled as he shot beams of light out of his hand at Lucifer who fell forward on the ground. Apollo turned and ran in a golden beam of light.

_**Yukinari's Palace**_

Athena and Yukinari exited the portal. Athena looked behind her as she seen Apollo come running. He stopped and to try to catch his breath. Yukinari held Hanako's soul in his arms, carrying her into the palace and into the main hall.

He seen Suzumi and Kasumi with Takeshi, "Where is Hanako?"

"In your chambers, father." Suzumi pointed up the stairs.

Yukinari ran up the stairs as Tsukasa got in his way.

"What are you doing? Let me through."

"This is all your fault!" Tsukasa spat.

"What are you talking about?"

"If it wasn't for you, she'd still be on Gaia!"

"Look, all I did was show interest and nothing more. She came to my chambers to kill me, but in turn confessed her love because I saved her."

"She fell in love with you-"

"I love her, and nothing is going to change that!"

"Stop it, both of you!" Hanako shouted, standing at the top of the stairs.

Yukinari brushed past Tsukasa. "Hanako," he said as he carried her soul to her. Hanako's soul merged with her body, bringing color and life back to her human form.

She wrapped her arms around him. "I knew you'd come back safe."

"Thanks to Apollo and Athena," Yukinari said.

Athena and Apollo both smiled at Yukinari and Hanako.

Tsukasa looked at Yukinari with disgust, walking away.

Shurii and Leiko entered as Tsukasa brushed past them. Leiko looked at Tsukasa. "Do I sense a hint of jealousy, Tsukasa?" She grinned. Tsukasa didn't respond.

Suzumi beamed as she looked at her father. "Father, I just remembered something. Before you do anything, you need to get to Gaia and apologize for killing Ria. That was a requirement for ensuring the treaty."

Yukinari nodded. "You're right. Shurii, you're coming with me whether you want to or not."

"No complaining here, my lord," Shurii replied. "Although we have to find a cure to reverse the zombie infection."

Apollo appeared at Shurii's side. "I can fix that. Come with me." He led Shurii outside, where a golden light quickly blinded everyone. Shurii came back inside, smiling, the scratch on his cheek gone.

"Now I can do what I've been waiting for," he said as he wrapped his arms around Leiko, who blushed a light pink. He pressed his lips to Leiko's, and her eyes widened.

Athena sighed. "Well, I am glad everyone is happy. Now I think it's time for us to go, Apollo."

"Thank you for your help, Goddess Athena," Yukinari said.

"Not a problem, just be sure you take _very_ good care of my daughter," Athena replied.

"Wait, what about Aphrodite?" Yukinari asked.

"I will bring you to her," Athena said.

"What do you need Aphrodite for?" Hanako asked, giving Yukinari a confused look.

"You'll see, my dear."

_**Mt. Olympus  
- Temple of Aphrodite -**_

Yukinari and Hanako stood before the Goddess Aphrodite. As one would expect from the Goddess of Love, she was beautiful, with long blonde hair and flowing white robes.

"What brings you here today, Vampire?" she asked.

Yukinari held Hanako's hand. "I would like to receive your blessing in...asking Hanako's hand in marriage."

Hanako gasped. "Yukinari, do you really mean it? Is it too soon?"

Yukinari shook his head. "Of course not, love."

Aphrodite smiled. "In that case, you have my blessing. Hanako is also my daughter-as much as she is Athena's. I know you have prayed for love. You have found it with Yukinari, Hanako."

Hanako nodded. "Yes, my lady. Thank you."

Yukinari knelt before Hanako, taking her hand in his. "Hanako, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Hanako nodded. "Yes, I will."

Yukinari rose and gathered Hanako in his arms, kissing her forehead. "I love you, Hanako."

"I love you too, Yukinari," she replied, smiling.

Aphrodite appeared in front of Yukinari and Hanako, holding their hands in hers and closing her eyes. "Let this love be blessed, the joining of Light and Darkness, to come together as one."

_**Gaia  
- Council Chambers -  
Three days later...**_

Yukinari inhaled as he stepped up to the podium, dressed in his traditional Japanese robes. He stood in front of thousands of Gaian Angels. The Generals of armies sat in front, as did the six council members.

He exhaled as he spoke. "I am here today to sincerely apologize for the death of former Her Defensive Alliance General Ria. I know how important she was to this nation, for she was strong and full of life. I am sorry for taking her away from you so soon. I hope with the joining of Angels and Vampires, we will live in peace."

Mayura rose as she faced the audience. "On behalf of the Gaian Council and this great nation, we accept your apology, Lord Yukinari."

The crowd cheered, and some of the audience slowly began to clap their hands and rise from their seats. Yukinari looked around the room, smiling.

After the ceremony was over, Odin approached Yukinari. "I must say that was a good speech you gave this afternoon," he said.

"Thank you, Councilman Odin."

"When are you and Hanako getting married?"

"Next month. We need a little bit of time to plan the wedding."

Odin nodded. "I wish you two the best."

"_Arigatou._"


	14. Thirteen: The Wedding

**Of Angels and Vampires**

**Chapter 13**

The Wedding of Yukinari and Hanako

By Fallon

_**Yukinari's Palace  
One month later…**_

Japanese Vampires piled into the palace of the main hall as they were awaiting of the wedding ceremony of Lord Okido Yukinari and Hanako, formerly of Gaia.

"Have you noticed how Lord Yukinari has changed since he met the mortal Hanako?" one Vampire asked another.

"Yes, maybe it's for the better that we live at peace with the Angels. Besides, we were almost at the brink of extinction!" the other said.

"What do you think Lord Yukinari is going to do with Lady Hanako?" asked a third Vampire.

"She can't stay mortal forever. He's going to have to turn her into a Vampire sooner or later," the first Vampire replied.

"We'll see after they get back from their honeymoon," the second Vampire said.

Leiko and Suzumi watched Hanako get ready for the wedding ceremony. Asashi zipped around Hanako, putting on her lavender-colored kimono and tying it with a yellow obi. She slipped on her purple robe scattered with flowers with the colors of red, white and pink. Hanako sat down and Asashi put two ornament sticks in her hair, letting her bangs dangle over her face.

After Asashi was done, she showed Hanako the full-length mirror and bowed. "You look beautiful, my lady," Asashi said.

"Tsukasa better eat his heart out," Leiko said, smiling.

"Be nice, Leiko. I feel bad for the guy," Suzumi said.

"Well, it's his loss for not making a move on you," Leiko said, looking at Hanako.

"It's too late for that. Besides, why are we even talking about him on a day like this?" Hanako said. Leiko and Suzumi looked at each other.

"Anyway, what do you think?" Hanako asked.

Leiko beamed. "You look absolutely beautiful!"

"Father will be so pleased," Suzumi said.

"I'm getting married for a third time…" Yukinari said.

"Is that a bad thing, my lord?" Shurii asked.

"No, it's like they always say, 'third time's a charm.'" Yukinari chuckled as he tied his sword hilt to his side. He wore his traditional Japanese robes of dark purple and black, matching Hanako's kimono.

"What about you and Leiko? When are you two going to get married?"

"Ah, I don't think we're ready for that yet. Maybe in a few years."

Yukinari sighed. "Well, can I ask the question?"

"What question is that—oh, that." Shurii blushed. "We haven't done that either, maybe in a few days."

"Well, you two have a lot of catching up to do," Yukinari said, smiling.

"Yes, but Leiko has been busy with the Gaian Council. They're looking for a new General to replace Hanako," Shurii said.

"Have they had any luck?"

"Not that I know of, my lord."

Yukinari turned and looked at Shurii. "Well, I think I'm ready."

"Are you ready to see your bride?" Shurii asked, smiling and opening the door to the main hall.

"Yes, I've been dying to see her since last night."

Yukinari stood up front as he waited for his bride to appear. A bell signaled the audience to rise with a loud _**clang clang clang**_.

Hanako gracefully glided down the aisle. She heard murmurs of small talk and complements on how she looked. Her face turned a light pink as she walked to take her place next to Yukinari. He towered over her as she looked up at his face and smiled.

Their wedding was a mix of Western and Shinto style ceremonies. The Shinto priest purified the couple and then prayed for them. "Let the Gods bless this couple with longevity in their love and lives as they commit to one another," he said as he cracked a rock fire around them.

Then Yukinari and Hanako sat across from each other, drinking nine cups of sake to unite not only themselves, but also to unite Hanako with Yukinari and the Japanese Vampires. Hanako had no family of her own to attend the wedding, but she would now become a new member of.

Hanako and Yukinari's faces turned light pink after drinking the sake. Soon it was time for Yukinari to say his vow.

He smiled as he took her hands in his. "Hanako, as your husband, I promise to protect, honor and love you for all the days of my life. It is with great joy that I take you as my wife. May the Gods bless us as we unite as one." Hanako's eyes were misted with tears as she smiled at him.

The Shinto priest took their hands in his and said, "It is with great pleasure that I present to you Lord and Lady Okido!"

The audience rose from their seats and clapped and cheered as Yukinari and Hanako were about to kiss.

Suddenly there was a loud _**BOOM!**_ The couple and the crowd looked through a haze of smoke to see that the doors had been blown apart by a bomb.

A man with long brown hair stood in the broken doorway, flanked by two other Vampires. He looked around and grinned at the interruption of the ceremony. "We're here to crash the party."

_**TO BE CONTINUED!**_

**Author's Note**: I would like to thank my dear friend Latonya for reading my story and being my grammar/beta reader. Without you, I wouldn't have never gotten this story done! Thank you. :)


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